Odisha: 4 cops suspended in lynching case as Crime Branch begins probe

At least four police personnel were suspended and two home guards disengaged from service on Sunday, 10 May, hours after the Crime Branch (CB) of Odisha Police began investigating the lynching of a Government Railway Police (GRP) constable by a mob on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on 7 May over allegations that he had attempted to rape a woman.

The Crime Branch took over the investigation a day after chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed Odisha Police to hand over the case, citing the sensitivity of the incident. The matter has drawn further attention after the woman complainant alleged sexual assault and the family of the deceased constable demanded a polygraph test for her.

According to the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police, the suspended personnel include a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector, a member of the Odisha Armed Police Force posted at Balianta police station and a constable attached to a Police Control Room (PCR) vehicle. They were suspended on charges of dereliction of duty.

Two home guards who were part of the PCR van staff were disengaged from service and their parent organisations informed, officials said.

Sources said the suspended personnel were among the first responders at the spot near Ramachandrapur bridge on the Hanspal-Bhingarpur Road, where 32-year-old GRP constable Soumya Ranjan Swain was lynched by a mob after allegations emerged that he had attempted to rape a woman.

Inspector-in-charge of Balianta police station Anil Kumar Parida has been shifted and attached to the Bhubaneswar headquarters. Inspector Rashmita Behera has been posted as the new officer-in-charge of the police station.

On Saturday, the slain constable’s father Dhusasan Swain alleged that his son was beaten to death in the presence of police personnel. He also claimed that some policemen assaulted his son along with the mob.

The Crime Branch has formed two separate teams to investigate the two cases registered in connection with the incident. One team is probing the alleged attempted rape, while the other is investigating the mob lynching, officials said. Crime Branch SP Anirudha Routyray and DSP Ratnaprava Satpathy have already visited the spot and begun the investigation.

“Considering the sensitiveness of the cases registered over alleged sexual assault to the victim in public view and subsequent death of one Soumya Ranjan Swain by the mob, CID Crime Branch, Odisha, Cuttack took over the investigation by the order of the DGP, Odisha,” the Crime Branch said in a statement.

Crime Branch DIG Battula Gangadhar said the investigating teams would examine all aspects of the case using scientific methods. “The teams will look into different angles of the cases and use scientific methods to bring a logical end to the matter. The officers will talk to the investigating officer of Balianta police station, visit the spot where the man was lynched by the mob. We will examine all witnesses, PCR van personnel, police officers and related documents,” he said.

Gangadhar added that forensic science teams, dog squads and other investigative tools would be used during the probe. He said legal and departmental action would be initiated if negligence by any police officer was established.

So far, police have arrested 11 people for their alleged involvement in the lynching. According to police, Swain was beaten to death while another person, Om Prakash Rout, sustained injuries after a group of around 40 people attacked them in the Balianta police station area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

Police said the incident occurred at around 11.30 am on 7 May when two women travelling on a scooter were allegedly hit from behind by Swain and his 20-year-old companion Rout.

The women fell on the road, after which Swain allegedly assaulted them and attempted to rape one of them, police said. The woman’s clothes were allegedly torn and she lost consciousness, following which local residents gathered and chased the two men.

With PTI inputs