Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Wednesday submitted a chargesheet against eleven accused in connection with the alleged mob lynching of Government Railway Police (GRP) constable Soumya Ranjan Swain in Balianta area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
The 767-page chargesheet was filed by Investigating Officer Ratnaprava Satapathy, Deputy Superintendent of Police, CID-Crime Branch, before the Court of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) in Bhubaneswar.
The eleven accused named in the chargesheet are: Judhistira Jena, Ranjit Patra, Ranjit Rana, Panchanan Badajena, Binod Kumar Behera, Pradeep Chandra Mangaraj, Ashok Kumar Jena, Bibhuti Bhusan Parida, Subash Bhoi, Skylab Pati and Bismay Mohanty.
Police said the accused have been charged under Sections 103(1), 191(2), 191(3), 189(4), 190 and 127(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The prosecution is based on oral, documentary, scientific and other corroborative evidence collected during the investigation, they said.
The 11 accused named in the chargesheet are among the 20 people who were arrested and produced before the court during the investigation.
According to the Crime Branch, the pleas and alibis of the remaining nine arrested persons were also examined. These nine are Santosh Pati alias Mantu, Suraj Ojha, Sangram Bhoi, Pramod Jena, Bunty Jena, Surajit Rana, Abhisek Kar, Sadananda Khuntia and Bikram Keshari Das.
After verifying the available evidence, investigators found no sufficient incriminating material at this stage to establish their active participation in the assault. As a result, the agency said the evidence was presently insufficient to make out a prima facie case for their prosecution.
The Crime Branch made it clear that it has kept the investigation open under Section 193(9) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to facilitate the collection of additional evidence, obtain pending forensic reports and pursue other investigative leads.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to trace and arrest the remaining identified suspects involved in the incident. Supplementary chargesheets will be filed if further evidence emerges.
The case is relate to the death of GRP constable Soumya Ranjan Swain, who died after alleged assault by a mob in the Bhingarpur-Kaja area under the jurisdiction of Balianta police station on May 7, this year.
