Justice AS Naidu. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 22: The Justice A.S. Naidu Commission, appointed by the Orissa government to probe into an alleged case of assault on a judicial magistrate by policemen, today started cross-examination of persons who have filed their affidavits in connection with the incident in Rourkela on the night of April 2.

The Orissa government had appointed the one-man commission headed by the retired high court judge to conduct an inquiry and submit a report with “an analysis of the sequence of events and circumstances leading to the incident along with the role, conduct and responsibility of the persons involved in it”.

The commission has so far received 41 affidavits. It has fixed October 22, 23, 24, 25, 28 and 29 for the third sitting in Cuttack and issued notices to 17 persons to face cross-examination during the six days. While four persons were scheduled for cross-examination today, three of them, including a constable at the Uditnagar police station in Rourkela, appeared before the commission.

The incident involving first-class judicial magistrate Arun Pattnaik and the local police took place allegedly around 11.30pm on April 2. Pattnaik had alleged in his affidavit that “Sadananda Pujari, inspector in-charge, Uditnagar, had forced him by yanking his shoulder and slapped on his left cheek”. Later, Pujari had “dragged” him to the police station.

Joseph Tigga, 44, who is working as a sentry constable at Uditnagar police station, stated in his affidavit: “About 11.45pm, inspector in-charge S.N. Pujari and homeguard Sk Abdul Kalim returned to the police station along with a drunken person. They had said that while they were performing police patrolling at 11.20pm, he was shouting in high pitch and causing annoyance to the public.”

“He was drunk and was not able to take care of himself. He was even abusing others in filthy language. That’s why the inspector in-charge had brought him to the police station to send him to his residence in a police jeep. At the police station, he identified himself as Arun Pattanaik, first class judicial magistrate of Panposh,” Tigga said.

Apart from Tigga, the two other persons who appeared before the commission and faced cross-examination were Sahil Khan, 19, and Mehfuz Alam, 22. Pattanaik’s counsel Sauri Mohapatra and Rourkela Bar Association counsel Bibhu Prasad Tripathy also cross-examined them.

Sahil and Mehfuz were picked up by the Uditnagar police around midnight on the same day after they fumbled to give their identity at a spot where some boys were bursting crackers on a road.

During cross-examination, Sahil stated: “At the police station, my signature was taken on a blank paper. I did not ask the police officer the purpose of obtaining my signature on a blank paper. They had obtained my signature at the night of April 2, 2011, and also in the morning of April 3, 2011, before releasing me from the police station”.