The Crime Branch of Odisha Police has apprehended two additional suspects involved in the mob lynching of Government Railway Police constable Soumya Ranjan Swain in Bhubaneswar’s Balianta area on May 7. The main accused, Panchanan Badjena alias Kalia and Ranjit Rana, were captured in Nayagarh district’s Ranpur jungle on May 19 based on substantial evidence collected during the investigation. These individuals have been implicated in the assault on the deceased, as per the Crime Branch’s press release.
A total of 15 individuals have now been arrested in connection with the case, with 11 of them initially detained by the Balianta police. The Odisha Police’s premier investigative unit has assumed control of the investigation into two cases registered at the Balianta Police Station. These cases pertain to the mob lynching of Soumya and a complaint filed by one of the girls involved, who accused the deceased of trying to sexually assault her.
The tragic incident occurred when Soumya Ranjan Swain, a Government Railway Police constable, was fatally attacked by a village mob over allegations of sexual assault on a girl in the Balianta area near Bhubaneswar. While traveling with his friend Om Prakash towards Bhubaneswar, an altercation ensued after a collision between their motorcycle and two girls riding a scooter in the Bhingarpur-Kaja area under Balianta police jurisdiction. The situation escalated when one of the girls accused Soumya of sexual assault, prompting villagers to intervene and assault the pair upon hearing her cries for help.
In the aftermath, the police rescued the victims and transported them to the hospital, where Soumya was pronounced dead by medical professionals. Subsequently, four police personnel were suspended, and the then Inspector-in-Charge of Balianta Police Station was transferred for alleged inaction during the assault on Swain by the mob.
