Bhubaneswar, May 26: The CID Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested the main accused in the sensational Balianta mob lynching case in which a 32-year-old Government Railway Police (GRP) constable was allegedly beaten to death by a mob in Odisha’s Khurda district on May 7.
The accused, identified as Binod Kumar Behera (48), a resident of Satya Nagar in Bhubaneswar, was apprehended from the Indupur area of Kendrapara district after sustained investigation and collection of evidence by the Crime Branch. With his arrest, the total number of people arrested in connection with the case has risen to 16.
According to an official release, the case has been registered as CID CB PS Case No. 06/2026 dated May 9, arising out of Balianta Police Station Case No. 221 of 2026 under Sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The Odisha government had handed over the investigation to the CID Crime Branch following public outrage over the incident.
Police said the incident took place in the Bhingarpur-Kaja area under Balianta police limits, where GRP constable Soumya Ranjan Swain and his associate Om Prakash Rout were allegedly attacked by a group of locals after accusations were levelled against them by two women travelling on a scooter.
According to investigators, the women alleged that the duo passed objectionable remarks and later rammed their scooter, causing them to fall on the road. One of the women further alleged that she was assaulted, strangled, hit on the head, and that an attempt was made to drag her after tearing her clothes.
Following the allegations, locals reportedly gathered at the spot and assaulted the duo. Videos that later surfaced on social media showed Swain tied to an iron structure and brutally attacked by several people, leading to widespread condemnation across the state.
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