Bhubaneswar: One more person was arrested in connection with the lynching of a man who was accused of trying to sexually assault two women in Odisha’s Khurda district, police said on Friday, May 8.
With this arrest, the number of people apprehended in the case rose to five.
The victim women, however, requested that the arrested people be released as they had saved them.
Director General of Police YB Khurania and State Commission for Women (SCW) Chairperson Sobhna Mohanty undertook an on-the-spot inquiry during the day.
Accompanied by Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena, the DGP inspected the place under the Balianta Police Station limits on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, where a mob attacked two men on Thursday, leaving one of them dead and another critically injured, an officer said.
“Based on video footage, one more person was arrested in the case, taking the total number of apprehended people to five,” the DGP said.
Odisha CM expresses grief over mob lynching, orders strict action against culprits
Expressing concern over the incident, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had directed the DGP to take strict action against the culprits who beat the man to death over charges of sexual assault of two women.
Majhi also requested the SCW chairperson to speak to the two women. He advised the police administration and the police force to remain vigilant to ensure that such incidents of mob lynching do not recur in the future.
SCW chief Mohanty said she visited the lynching site and talked to local police. She will submit a report to the chief minister and recommend action based on the findings, she said.
After meeting the two victims, the commission chairperson said, “They want police security. They will be provided with all assistance as required. I will submit the report to the chief minister.”
One of the victims blacked out during assault
One of the two victims on Friday said she lost consciousness during the assault and, after returning to her senses, found herself wrapped in a towel and her dress torn off.
Narrating the ordeal she went through on Thursday, May 7, the woman said she, along with her female friend, was travelling on a two-wheeler near Ramchandrapur bridge in Balianta police station area, when two men on a motorbike passed lewd remarks.
“They crossed us and came back to hit our scooty. We fell on the road, following which they attacked us,” she said to Mohanty, who met her at her residence.
The woman said one of the two men hit her on the head, and she lost consciousness.
“After coming to my senses, I found myself wrapped in a towel and my dress torn off. The attacker was asking his friend to take me to a room,” she said, alleging that one of the men attempted to rape her.
“However, I survived because the local people had gathered near us. My legs are severely injured, and I am unable to sit properly,” the survivor said.
Doctors have advised her to undergo an MRI scan as the attacker had hit her head.
Her 22-year-old companion also suffered serious injuries to her legs.
She said, “The man was drunk. Though his companion was trying to stop him, he continued to assault us. I screamed for help. My friend had lost consciousness. After the local people arrived, the attackers fled to a nearby agricultural field.”
Victims call for the release of five arrested
During their interaction with the SCW chairperson, both women pleaded that the five arrested people be released as they had saved their lives.
Meanwhile, the police handed over the body of the lynching victim, 32-year-old Government Railway Police (GRP) constable Soumya Ranjan Swain, to his family after postmortem examination.
His associate Om Prakash Rout (22), who suffered critical injuries in the mob attack, was in police custody.
Cuttack GRP SP Bhawani Shankar Udgata stated that Swain was placed under suspension on charges of dereliction of duty, and a case was registered against him at Mahila Police Station in Cuttack in 2021 for allegedly harassing a woman.
A video of the mob lynching has gone viral on social media. Swain was seen tied to an iron bar and beaten severely.
Initially, he was taken to a Community Health Centre and then to Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, where he was declared dead.
Police registered a case of attempted rape against the deceased based on the women’s complaint, while a separate murder case has been filed regarding the mob lynching.
The mother of the deceased alleged that her son was beaten to death in the presence of police.
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