Odisha Crime Branch files chargesheet against 11 in constable murder case

The Odisha Crime Branch submitted a 767‑page chargesheet to the Sub‑Divisional Judicial Magistrate court in Bhubaneswar, naming 11 of the 20 people arrested in connection with the death of Government Railway Police constable Soumya Ranjan Swain. The charges are framed under Sections 103(1), 191(2), 191(3), 189(4), 190 and 127(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, based on oral, documentary, scientific and other corroborative evidence.

Investigators examined the pleas and alibis of the remaining nine arrested individuals but found insufficient material to establish their active participation, so the case against them was not pursued. The probe remains open under Section 193(9) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to allow further evidence collection and forensic analysis.

The incident occurred on May 7 in the Balianta area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, where Constable Swain was alleged to have assaulted two women and attempted rape, prompting a mob to intervene and beat him to death. The police clarified that the case is being treated as murder rather than a legal definition of mob lynching, and a separate molestation case against Swain is pending.