Bhubaneswar: Police have directed the concerned police stations in the city to keep strict vigil on accused in custody in the wake of alleged custodial death of an accused at Ainthapali police station in Sambalpur.

One person had died in police custody at Saheed Nagar in June 2012.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said the concerned inspector in charge of police stations and diary charge officers had been asked to keep tabs on people detained in the lock-ups. "Though all police stations in the city have closed-circuit cameras installed at the lock-ups, we have ordered to ensure the functioning of the cameras," said Bhoi.

Besides concerned police stations have also been asked not to entertain food provided by the relatives of detainee. In June 2012, one 27-year-old man, Kuldeep Mohapatra, was caught and beaten up by a group of people while he was trying to extort money from a truck driver by posing as a policeman at Saheed Nagar. However, Mohapatra later died in the lock-up of Saheed Nagar police station. Later, the then inspector in charge of Saheed Nagar police station was transferred while two other policemen got suspended. The CBI is investigating the case.

The police said they had been religiously following the practice of referring the manhandled accused to hospitals. "All the guidelines laid by the Supreme Court are being followed while making arrests. But often, the detainees complain of health related issues deliberately," said a police official.

On the other hand, police officials also blamed the shortage of manpower and location of the lock-ups inside the police stations behind such incidents.

"Often, the diary charge officers perform their duty for 24 hours and the fatigue caused by long duration of duty makes him unable to keep tabs on the detainees. Similarly, the location of the lock-up should be in such a position that the officer can directly keep tabs on the accused. But, most of the newly built police stations have lock-ups, which are beyond the visibility range of the officer," said another police official.