Bhubaneswar, June 17: The family and friends of the goldsmith from Kakatpur, who was arrested on May 21 for stealing a motorcycle, today alleged that the police had framed him.

The family members of 33-year-old Kailash Sahu, who met the deputy commissioner of police, Nitinjit Singh here, said that Nayapalli police on May 17 had took him from his home in Kakatpur with the help of the local police.

“We were kept in the dark about the whole operation. When we went to the Nayapalli police station the next day, the inspector-in-charge of the police station called Kailash and we spoke to him,” said Shankar Prasad Sahu, who is the assistant secretary of the goldsmith association of Kakatpur.

However, he alleged that Kailash was not produced in the court that day and his father lodged a missing case in the sub-divisional judicial magistrate’s court in Bhubaneswar on May 19.

The court sought information about the detention of Kailash from Nayapalli inspector-in-charge. But the inspector in his reply to the court on May 20 wrote that no such person had been detained at the police station in connection with any case.

As they did not get any information about the goldsmith from the city police, the local residents and the family members of Kailash gheraoed the Kakatpur police station seeking information about him.

“The Kakatpur police informed us that Kailash had been arrested by Kharavella Nagar police on May 20 for stealing motorcycle in front of a jewellery shop on the Janapath and the next day he had been produced in the court,’ said Buddheswar Sahu, father of Kailash adding that they were shocked by the news.

The family and friends of Sahu alleged that though Nayapalli police was not prepared to admit this they had held him on the false charge of buying stolen gold ornaments and later handed him over to the Kharvella Nagar police who showed him as arrested in a motorcycle theft case and produced him to court.

“We also lodged a complaint against Nayapalli police with the Kakatpur police, but the later did not receive our complaint,” said the assistant secretary of the Kakatpur goldsmith association adding that Kailash was released from judicial custody on bail on May 31.

They had complained against the Nayapalli police to the top police officials of state including the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack police commissioner. The DCP had called them today to discuss the matter. The family has demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

After meeting they said that the DCP had assured them of proper investigation and action against the guilty. “I had called them and discussed the matter today. The matter is under investigation,” said DCP Nitinjeet Singh.