Silchar, Oct 16 (IANS): A court in Assam's Karimganj district has directed that a case be registered against a police inspector after two persons who were apprehended in a case of theft had lodged complaint of torture in custody, officials said on Saturday.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Nur Md. Abdullah Ahmed Majumdar has ordered to register a case under the Indian Penal Code against Neelambazar police station Officer-in-Charge and Inspector Deepjyoti Malakar after the two individuals alleged that they were tortured in custody after being arrested on Wednesday night.

Rososindhu Dutta, a lawyer, who was representing the arrested persons, claimed that following Malakar's instruction, policemen brutally tortured them.

Malakar, however, denied the allegations, claiming that it was a trick of the two suspected thieves to "get away" even as police have proof of their offences.

According to the complaint of the detainees, one of them was tortured in different methods, including rubbing of chilli powder on private parts and pouring petrol on his body followed by a threat to set him afire.

A policeman, present during the trial, has reportedly confessd to the custodial torture before the court.