Dalit Youth Found Hanging Inside Kendrapara Collectorate, Probe Ordered
Authorities have launched inquiries after family and activists said delay in a caste-linked land-transfer clearance may have driven him to take his life.
Overview
- A 26-year-old man identified as Srichandan Mallik was found hanging from an upper-floor railing inside the Kendrapara collectorate on Friday and was declared dead at the district headquarters hospital.
- Family members say Mallik had spent about six months seeking official permission to sell land and grew desperate after repeated visits to revenue offices; under Section 22 of the Orissa Land Reforms Act a Scheduled Caste landholder needs a revenue officer’s approval to transfer land to a non-SC buyer.
- Sub-Collector Arun Kumar Nayak has denied that any application from Mallik was pending in his office, while District Collector Raghuram R. Iyer has ordered an administrative inquiry and town police have registered an unnatural-death case.
- Dalit rights activists, local lawyers and the BJD’s Kendrapara leaders have accused officials of delay and harassment, staged protests at the collectorate and demanded disciplinary action plus compensation for the family.
- Investigators say no suicide note was recovered at the scene and inquiries are continuing to determine cause and responsibility, with possible administrative or legal action if wrongdoing or harassment is found.