Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has suspended senior IPS officer Dayal Gangwar, who currently serves as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the state Home Department. The reason behind this disciplinary action against the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)-rank officer has not been disclosed by the state government. However, it is suspected that the suspension is related to Gangwar’s alleged involvement in the mental harassment of former Government Railway Police (GRP) Constable Soumya Ranjan Swain, who was lynched by a mob in the Balianta area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar last month.
The suspension follows a probe conducted by Arun Bothra, a senior IPS officer and ADGP Railways and Coastal Security. Soumya, a Railway Constable, was killed by a mob of villagers on May 7 over accusations of sexually assaulting a girl in the Balianta area. Soumya’s mother has made serious allegations against Gangwar, stating that her son faced severe mental pressure due to the IPS officer during Gangwar’s tenure as ADGP Railways. She claimed that Gangwar not only gave personal tasks to the deceased Constable but also mentally harassed him.
According to Soumya’s mother, the former GRP Constable was managing a gym center allegedly owned by an associate of Gangwar in Bhubaneswar. The state government transferred Gangwar on May 25 from his role as ADGP Communication to OSD in the Home Department amidst the growing controversy. Following the National Human Rights Commission’s intervention, the ADGP (Railways and Coastal Security) was tasked with investigating the allegations against Gangwar and submitting a report. The Crime Branch of Odisha Police, investigating Soumya’s mob lynching, has arrested 18 suspects, with efforts ongoing to apprehend others still at large.
