Other States - Orissa   

Court orders release of tribal woman

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday ordered the State Government to release immediately a woman who is lodged in Balasore district jail for no fault of hers. The woman was a victim of "mistaken identity" and was arrested by the local police in place of the real accused.

The Balasore district police had arrested Binapani Mukhi, a tribal woman of Jaleswar block on March 8 this year for allegedly trading in illicit liquor. She was even convicted by a local court and was sentenced to undergo two years of rigorous imprisonment (RI).

A division bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice Indrajit Mohanty adjudicating over a PIL, instructed to release the innocent woman immediately when the State Government informed the bench that the arrest was made "wrongfully". The HC had last week asked the government to file counters on it when a social activist had moved the court alleging that the police had picked up a "wrong" person while the actual accused was still absconding.

Seeking compensation to the victim, the PIL had also urged the court to order for a thorough probe into the police goof up and quash the lower court’s conviction order. The HC while quashing the conviction order passed by the judicial magistrate (first class) of Jaleswar has adjourned the case to be next heard after the puja vacation.

Police arrested the 37-year-old woman from her village Panchughanta while her sister-in-law Minati Mukhi was allegedly trading in illicit liquor. Since Binapani’s nickname was also Minati, police picked up her believing that she was the culprit.

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