The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has taken suo-moto cognisance of the media reports on the death of gangster Sheikh Hyder Ali after a police encounter and sought report from the Odisha Police within four weeks.
The commission has issued notice to Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Odisha DGP, Director General of Prisons & DCS and Twin City Police Commissioner seeking reports from them.
The matter would come up for hearing on September 6.
The commission’s move obviously followed reservations in some quarters about the justification of the police encounter with Hyder.
Besides, a complaint was filed on Monday before the OHRC seeking a due enquiry into the police encounter. Orissa High Court advocate Amrit Mishra filed it stating discrepancies in the police statements regarding the circumstances that led the police to open fire on the gangster.
Annexing media clippings, Mishra pointed out that the facts reported in newspapers and television channels quoting some policemen do not tally with those made by some other policemen.
