Bhubaneswar, May 26: In a major breakthrough in the Balianta mob lynching case, the CID-Crime Branch has arrested main accused Binod Kumar Behera from Kendrapara.
With his arrest, the total number of accused arrested in the case has risen to 16 in the sensational Government Railway Police (GRP) constable Soumya Ranjan Swain murder case.
According to sources, Crime Branch sleuths arrested Behera, 48, from Indupur area in Kendrapara district late last night.
Behera, a resident of Satya Nagar in Bhubaneswar, was apprehended late Monday night on the basis of evidence gathered during the investigation.
The case relates to the brutal killing of GRP constable Swain on May 7, 2026, in the Bhingarpur-Kaja area under Balianta police limits on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
According to a CID Crime Branch press release issued on Tuesday, Behera is considered the prime accused in the assault that led to Swain’s death. The case has been registered under Sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The deceased Soumya Ranjan Swain (32) was lynched by a mob in full public view and in the presence of police on May 7. The mob attacked the constable over allegations of sexually assaulting two women.
He was hung from an iron bar, both his hands and legs were tied and the attackers also carried and dragged him around. The mob constantly beat him with who blows, kicks and punches and continued to assault Swain even after the Police reached the spot. Videos of the act have been widely circulated on social media.
The incident has sent shockwaves across the State, prompting chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to reprimand the Commissionerate Police for inaction and order a crime branch probe on May 9. Four police personnel were suspended, and the Balianta inspector-in-charge was shunted.
