BHUBANESWAR: A railway constable was allegedly lynched by a mob in broad daylight on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Thursday after being accused of attempting to rape a woman on a roadside. The incident, which reportedly occurred in the presence of police personnel, triggered widespread outrage after videos of the assault surfaced online.
The deceased was identified as Soumya Ranjan Swain (32), a Government Railway Police (GRP) constable who also worked part-time as a gym trainer. Police later arrested four persons in connection with the mob assault.
According to police, the incident took place around 10.30 am in the Balianta area when Swain and his friend, Om Prakash Rout (20), were travelling on a motorcycle and encountered two women riding a scooter.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagmohan Meena said Swain allegedly passed lewd remarks at the women and rammed his bike into their scooter, causing them to fall. One of the women later alleged that Swain attempted to sexually assault her after the collision.
“When the women raised an alarm, passers-by intervened. Swain allegedly misbehaved with them as well, leading to more locals gathering at the spot and attacking him,” Meena said.
Police claimed Swain was behaving “abnormally and aggressively” when officers arrived. “He resisted rescue efforts and even bit one of our personnel. He was taken to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” the DCP said, adding that Rout was not assaulted by the crowd.
Authorities have registered two separate cases — one based on the woman’s complaint of attempted sexual assault against Swain, and another regarding the mob killing.
Police said they are identifying additional attackers using viral video footage from the scene.
The incident led to tensions outside the Balianta police station late Thursday night, with clashes reported between police personnel and relatives of the deceased.
Swain’s mother accused the police of failing to intervene in time. “Had the police stopped the mob, my son would have survived. They remained mute spectators,” she alleged.
Rejecting allegations of inaction, DCP Meena said Swain was already critically injured before police reached the scene. “Our personnel controlled the mob situation and acted responsibly. There was no negligence,” he said.
Police sources stated that the control room received information about the incident at 11.02 am, and a police team reached the location by 11.10 am.
Following the incident, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed Director General of Police Y B Khurania to take strict action against those involved in the lynching and ensure measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
Police sources also revealed that a complaint had earlier been filed against Swain in 2021 at Cuttack’s Mahila police station over allegations of sexual assault on the pretext of marriage.
