Odisha: Truck driver held for transporting cannabis dies by suicide in police custody

A truck driver from Rajasthan, who was arrested for transporting cannabis, allegedly died by suicide in police custody in Jeypore on Tuesday, police said.

"In the early morning, he went to the washroom and hanged himself from the ceiling with a bedsheet. He was taken to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. A case has been registered. This matter will be investigated by the department and as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC)," B Gunthapali, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Jeypore told reporters here.

The deceased has been identified as Gopalram Paswan (48).

According to police, Gopal was detained by the Jeypore Sadar police for allegedly transporting illegal 'Ganja' (cannabis) on Saturday.

The police also seized above 8 quintals of ganja and a truck, in which the contraband was being transported.

Postmortem will be done in the presence of the family members of the driver, who are expected to reach by Tuesday.

( With inputs from ANI )