CUTTACK: A division bench of the Orissa High Court has issued notice to the State Government to file a counter affidavit in two weeks on an alleged custodial death incident. Acting on a writ petition filed by Kishore Kumar Nayak and three others, legal heirs of one Bharat Nayak, the division bench of Chief Justice V Gopalagowda and Justice BN Mohapatra issued the notice. The petitioners had prayed the court to issue a direction to State Government to pay a compensation of ` 5 lakh besides a job for Kishore since his father, Bharat, died in police custody in 2001. According to the petition, Bharat was taken by Bhadrak police on July 5, 2001 at about 6 on the suspicion of stealing a briefcase from Bhadrak bus stand. The petitioners alleged that their father was assaulted by police as a result of which he succumbed to injuries the following day. After the incident became public, the Government sanctioned ` 50,000 as ex gratia but no other benefit was provided to them, they stated alleging that the shock of their father’s death led to their mother’s early demise. Since the petitioners were minors when all this happened, they could not come to the court early. Alleging that police were responsible for the whole spate of incidents, the petitioners appealed to the court to direct for appropriate legal action against the erring officials.
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