From Army Officer’s ‘Custody Torture’ To Shraddha Walker Murder Rerun, Crimes That Stunned Odisha In 2024

Bhubaneswar: 2024 was one of the busiest years for Odisha Police as the state hosted the 59th DG and IG conference amid threats from Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The police department also got embroiled in a controversy over alleged torture of a serving Army officer in custody. A senior IPS officer was also suspended for ‘grave misconduct’.

Khalistani separatist Pannun’s threat

A day ahead of the three-day All India Conference of DGPs/IGPs in Bhubaneswar, Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in a video message, threatened to disrupt the pan-India meet, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Security Advisor Ajit Doval besides hosts of top security officials.

Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) activated a second layer of security check for passengers after some city-based journalists received a threat mail with a audio message, warning people against flying from the airport on December 1.

Pannun, who heads the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit, also announced Rs 25 lakh cash reward for raising the Khalistani flag in Bhubaneswar during the event.

Man murders girl to stop her from testifying against him

December also saw a man allegedly slit the throat of a 18-year-old, whom he had allegedly raped and impregnated over a year back, to prevent her from testifying against him in court. He later dismember her body into half a dozen pieces, burnt her face with kerosene, and scattered the pieces across multiple locations to hoodwink police. The 30-year-old prime accused, Kunu Kisan, watched several crime shows, including the popular series Crime Patrol, before committing the crime. His nephew, a minor, was his accomplice. They dumped the severed head at the morass of effluent discharged from the Rourkela Steel Plant near Tarkera and other body parts, including the torso, in Brahmani river in Odisha’s Sundargarh district. Clothes, footwear and other articles were thrown in the nearby bushes.

Trafficking of Bangladeshi girls in Cuttack

Odisha Police launched a probe to arrest the mastermind behind a human trafficking racket, involving Bangladeshi girls after a 16-year-old girl was rescued while roaming in the Link Road area of Cuttack on November 9 night. The girl was later handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The CWC report revealed that the girl was brought from Bangladesh on the false promise of providing a job and later forced into prostitution.

A couple, Veera Gujur Choudhary (55) of Rajasthan and Jasmine (36) of Keonjhar, were arrested from Cuttack’s Gopalpur in connection with the case. Later, a 36-year-old Abdul Sayadul Suleman, who allegedly engaged the minor girl in prostitution for more than a month, was apprehended from Jharpada in Bhubaneswar.

A sex racket, involving 23 Bangladeshi girls, was also unearthed in the state capital a few days back. The girls were allegedly lured to Bhubaneswar with promises of employment, but later forced into flesh trade.

Pharmacist kills wife with help of girlfriends in Bhubaneswar

A man, Pradyumna Kumar Das, allegedly killed his wife Subhashree on October 28 with the help of two of his girlfriends in Bhubaneswar after she came to know of his extramarital affairs. While he claimed that she died by suicide, she had bruises on her hands and neck and the postmortem confirmed that she had died due to an overdose of anaesthesia.

Pradmunya married Subhashree in 2020 but she moved to her parents’ place in Khurda about six months ago following alleged torture. He befriended Ejita last year and Roji in March this year, and the three got along well. Pradyumna brought his wife to Roji’s house in Sampur area at around 2 pm on October 27 when she was overdosed with drugs meant for anaesthesia. An unconscious Subhashree was taken Capital Hospital on October 28 where Pradyumna told doctors that she tried to die by suicide.

Burglars gang-rape woman after looting Bhubaneswar apartment

On the night of September 30, a 27-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by two burglars in her apartment at Maitree Vihar in Bhubaneswar. The crime took place around 2 am in a multi-storey building of a housing colony developed by the state government for slum dwellers. The burglars first looted her ornaments and mobile phone at knife-point and later gangraped the women by threatening to kill her 2-year-old daughter. Police later arrested the two burglars and her neighbour, who stood guard outside the flat while she was being raped.

Army Officer’s ‘custody torture’ in Bhubaneswar

The alleged assault of an Army officer and molestation of his fiancée at Bharatpur police station of Bhubaneswar sparked outrage across the country. The incident took place on the night of September 15 when they visited the police station file a road rage complaint after allegedly being waylaid by goons near Pathargadia late at night as they were returning after closing her restaurant. She alleged being stripped, kicked, and falsely accused of assaulting a lady officer.

Three days later, Odisha Police suspended five officers, including the Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) of Bharatpur Police Station, and they were later subjected to brain mapping and narco-analysis tests at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Chief Minister Mohan Majhi also ordered a judicial probe into the matter.

Double murder over parking dispute

Two persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of two youngsters over a parking dispute at Kalayani Plaza complex under Airfield police limits in Bhubaneswar on August 7. One of the victims, Rashmi Sethi, who owned a meat shop, and the accused, identified as Ganesh Mallick and Pradeep Mallick were at loggerheads. Ganesh was the parking supervisor of the apartment, Kalyani Plaza Annex, while Pradeep was his friend. The victims were not residents of the apartment nor was the parking area in question allotted to any of their friends or relatives.

Odisha Police bust SIM box racket operated by Bangladeshi

In August, Odisha Police busted an alleged SIM box racket operated from Bhubaneswar by a Bangladeshi to reroute international calls to Pakistan, China and West Asia. Seven SIM boxes were seized from Bhubaneswar and five each from Ranchi and Cuttack.

Asadur Zamaan, who founded software company – Icon Technology in Dhaka, was possibly turning on and off the SIM boxes through a GSM-based remote smart switch basing on the threat perception. His India agent, Raju Mandal, a native of West Bengal, was arrested with over 1,000 pre-activated SIM cards along with routers and other equipment from a house in Bhubaneswar.

IPS officer suspended for ‘forcibly entering woman inspector’s home’

Senior IPS officer Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao was suspended for allegedly abusing his power and “grave misconduct” after it was reported that he forcibly entered a married woman inspector’s home and misbehaved with her. The alleged incident took place on July 27 night. The 2007-batch Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, who served as DIG Fire Services and home guards, was placed under suspension on July 30.

Law Professor stabs father to death after argument

A 38-year-old former law professor of a city-based private university allegedly stabbed his father to death at their apartment in Kalarahanga area on July 3 for refusing to lend him money. Anirudha Choudhury was stressed about outstanding loans. His father, Sunil Choudhury, who had retired from the state-run National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), refused to give him money to repay his loans, leading to a bitter argument. Anirudha’s mother Sunita was present when the ghastly crime took place at around 4 am.