Bhubaneswar, June 29: The family members of Zulfukar Ali, 26, who had alleged torture in custody at Kharavela Nagar police station, today lodged a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission.

The commission has taken sou motu cognisance of the incident. It has sought a detailed report from the deputy commissioner of police Nitinjeet Singh within 10 days. Ali’s family members, who had failed to meet Singh yesterday, today lodged a complaint with him against Kharavela Nagar police. Ali, a contractor, who was also running an e-ticket booking agency in his house at NAC Colony, was detained on June 27 by Kharavela Nagar police on charges of cyber crime.

Later, the police admitted him to a private hospital at Kharavela Nagar. The police said Ali’s parents informed them that he had been undergoing treatment for stomach related disease.

However, Ali’s father, Ayub Mallick, a driver, alleged that the police had tortured his son in custody and taken him to hospital after his condition deteriorated.

“They forced my son to admit a crime, which he had not committed. When he denied his involvement, they beat him black and blue,” said Mallick, showing the scars on his son’s upper thigh.

However, Kharavela Nagar police refuted the charges and said they had strong evidences against Ali, who was involved in several cyber crimes that had occurred at Kharavela Nagar. The police said a retired government employee, Kailash Chandra Pattnaik, had lodged a complaint about withdrawal of Rs 3.34 lakh from his account fraudulently through ATM.