The journalist can be seen tied to a hospital bed.
Highlight
- An inquiry has been ordered after photographs of a journalist chained to a hospital bed were sent
- Journalist Loknath Dalai arrested for beating up a cop
- Senior journalists from Odisha condemn police excesses against journalist
Odisha News: An inquiry has been ordered after photographs of a journalist chained to a hospital bed went viral on the internet. Journalist Loknath Dalai was arrested for beating up a policeman. Sources said the picture was taken when Dalai was undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In the picture, Dalai was seen lying on the hospital floor with his legs attached to a handcuff, which is tied to the hospital bed using an iron chain.
Now, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter. OHRC has also directed IG Eastern Range, Balasore to submit a report within 15 days. The DGP of Odisha Police has also ordered an inquiry into the matter.
What happened
Sources said Dalai was allegedly called by the Nilgiris police on Wednesday for abusing and assaulting a home guard. However, he was admitted to the hospital after he was allegedly assaulted by the police at the police station.
On April 4, home guard Niranjan Rana lodged a complaint at the Nilgiris police station, alleging that Dalai had verbally abused, assaulted and threatened dire consequences in the line of duty.
However, Dalai, who reports for a local media house, alleged that his arrest was an attempt to avenge some news reports against the police. He demanded action against IIC and another officer of Nilgiri police station. Dalai claimed that he was asked to come to the police station, where his mobile was snatched and he was thrashed by Inspector-in-Charge Draupadi Das. He said that when he fainted due to the beating, he was admitted to the hospital and a policeman tied his leg to his bed.
Journalists condemn police excesses
Senior journalists from Odisha condemned the police excesses against the journalist and demanded strict action against the police personnel responsible for this. Expressing concern over the incident, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that media is the fourth pillar of democracy.
“Difference of opinion should be respected in a democracy. But handcuffing a journalist like a professional criminal is not acceptable in a healthy society,” he said.