Police personnel on search of child assaulted by family

Three members of a family allegedly assaulted two police personnel, including a woman, at different times Thursday when they went to a village in Jajpur district in search of a boy following a court order.

All the three accused were later arrested, Jajpur Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Kedarnath Sahoo said.

They attacked Assistant Sub-Inspector Usharani Jena first and Inspector In-Charge Umakanta Nayak of Dharmasala police station later. Nayak suffered head injuries and received 14 stitches.

The child could not be rescued.

Police said, one Pramod Kumar Malik has approached the Jajpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate's court for custody of his 5-year-old nephew as his parents died last year.

The orphan child has been staying with his grandfather and two paternal uncles in Odanga village.

The court issued a search warrant and directed Dharmasala police to rescue the child and hand him over to Malik, his maternal uncle.

ASI Usharani Jena went to the house in Odanga village where the child lives but she was attacked by the boy's grandparents and uncles, police said.

She returned without conducting the search warrant and reported the matter to the IIC Umakanta Nayak.

When Nayak went to the house with a team, the three tore the search warrant and hit him with iron rods injuring him seriously, police said.

The accused were remanded to judicial custody after their bail applications were rejected.