Man lynched by mob for sexually assaulting two women, 4 held; CM orders strict action

A man was beaten to death and another critically injured by a mob for allegedly sexually assaulting two women on the outskirts of the city on Thursday, following which Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked the police to ensure no repeat of such incidents in future.

A man was beaten to death and another critically injured by a mob for allegedly sexually assaulting two women on the outskirts of the city on Thursday, following which Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked the police to ensure no repeat of such incidents in future. While expressing grief over the incident, the chief minister asked DGP Y B Khurania to remain vigilant against mob lynching incidents. He also spoke to the chairperson of the State Commission for Women, Sobhna Mohanty, and suggested that she meet the victims of alleged sexual assault on Friday. Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and BJD president Naveen Patnaik and OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das have strongly criticised the BJP government over the frequent broad daylight killings after a viral video of the man being tortured by a mob and being shifted to hospital with his hands tied at Balianta area at the outskirts of the city went viral. PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. The incident took place near a bridge at Ramchandrapur under the Balianta police station area on the Hanspal-Nimapara road at about 11.30 am. The deceased was identified as Soumya Ranjan Swain, a suspended constable of the government railway police (GRP), Cuttack. The critically injured man was identified as Om Prakash Mohanty, the police said. Quoting the complaint lodged by the women involved in the case, Commissioner of Police (CP) S Dev Datta Singh said that the two persons allegedly intercepted a scooter in which two women were travelling. The women fell down on the road after they were pushed by the two men on a motorbike. As soon as they fell, the duo physically attacked them, and one attempted to sexually assault a woman, Biranchi Narayan Jena, a passerby who witnessed the incident, told reporters. As the women raised an alarm, a large number of people assembled and attacked the two men, leaving them critically injured till the police reached the place. Both the men and women were rescued and taken to the hospital, the police said. ''My son Soumya Ranjan Swain does drink as alleged. He has been beaten to death,'' Kabita Swain, the mother of the deceased GRP constable, told reporters outside the Capital Hospital here. Another critically injured man, Om Prakash Mohanty, is undergoing treatment, and his statement has been recorded, the police said. The Commissioner of Police rejected allegations that the two men were assaulted by the mob in the presence of police. ''Our policeman deserves appreciation for handling the mob carefully,'' he said. Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena said two FIRs are registered, one on the murder of a man and another on the attempt to rape a woman. ''The two men, who were on a bike, first overtook the two women on a scooter, then returned and assaulted the ladies. The locals and nearby people rescued the two women and assaulted the two men. One of them died,'' the DCP said. The DCP said the mob attacked Swain because he was out of his mind and behaving abnormally. ''Even he attempted to bite the police personnel when they were rescuing him,'' he said, adding that the statement of two women have also been recorded. Majhi, who returned from Gujarat in the evening, took stock of the situation and talked to DGP Y B Khurania and SCW chairperson Sobhna Mohanty. ''The CM has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and strict action against the culprits,'' a statement issued by the CMO said, adding that so far four people were arrested in connection with mob lynching. ''The SCW chairperson is suggested to visit the women victims and ascertain what exactly happened,'' the statement said. One platoon (30 personnel) of the armed force was rushed to the incident site as there was tension in the area. BJD president Naveen Patnaik, in a post on X, said, ''The incident at Balianta, near Bhubaneswar, where a young man was beaten to death in broad daylight, is utterly barbaric. Even as such a heinous event unfolds near the state capital, the government's inexplicable silence is shocking the people of the state.'' ''If such incidents are occurring in the presence of police, to whom will people turn for protection? Why is the police administration and the government so helpless before criminals?'' Patnaik asked. He said if the government is incapable of preventing such incidents in the suburbs of Bhubaneswar, then the situation in other areas of the state is clearly imaginable. ''In the recent barbaric incidents in Hinjili, Kanasa, and Dhenkanal, what exemplary actions has the government taken?'' Patnaik asked. ''The brutal killing of a railway constable in Balianta, reportedly in the presence of police over molestation allegations, is a shocking reflection of the worsening law and order situation in Odisha. No one can be permitted to take the law into their own hand,'' OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said.