Bhubaneswar, May 19 The Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Tuesday arrested two more accused involved in the brutal mob lynching of Government Railway Police constable Soumya Ranjan Swain in the Balianta area of Bhubaneswar on May 7 over allegations of sexual assault of a girl.
“On May 19, based on substantial evidence collected during the course of investigation, the main accused, Panchanan Badjena alias Kalia and Ranjit Rana, have been apprehended from the Ranpur jungle of Nayagarh district. Investigation has revealed the involvement of the accused persons in assaulting the deceased,” the Crime Branch informed in a press note on Tuesday.
A total of 15 persons have been arrested so far in connection with the case, including 11 accused who were earlier arrested by the Balianta police.
Notably, the premier investigating wing of the Odisha Police has taken full control of the investigation into two cases registered at the Balianta Police Station, one related to the mob lynching of Soumya and the other based on a complaint lodged by one of the victim girls, who accused the deceased of attempting to sexually assault her.
On May 7, the Government Railway Police constable, Soumya Ranjan Swain, was beaten to death by a mob of villagers over allegations of sexual assault on a girl in the Balianta area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
Soumya, along with his friend Om Prakash, was travelling towards Bhubaneswar when they came across two girls riding a scooter in the Bhingarpur-Kaja area under the Balianta police limits.
A collision between their motorcycle and the girls' scooter sparked an argument.
One of the girls accused Soumya of attempting to sexually assault her, following which local villagers, alerted by her screams for help, rushed to the spot and assaulted the duo.
Police later rescued them and shifted them to the hospital, where doctors declared Soumya dead.
Following the incident, four police personnel were placed under suspension, while the then Inspector-in-Charge of Balianta Police Station was transferred for allegedly failing to take any action during the mob assault on Swain.
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