Bhubaneswar: A shocking incident of mob violence at Bhubaneswar railway station has sparked widespread public outrage after viral video footage revealed a mentally challenged man being tied up and brutally beaten on Platform No. 1.
The victim, identified as Tapan Behera from Talagaon under Harabhanga police limits in Boudh district, was subjected to a prolonged assault following a dispute at a contractor-operated canteen late at night on August 10.
According to reports, the altercation began when Behera entered the station area in search of food and allegedly threw goods at a stall. The situation rapidly escalated when a group of vendors took the law into their own hands, tied up Behera’s hands and feet before striking him repeatedly with plastic pipes and dragging him along the platform.
The entire ordeal lasted nearly 30 minutes, during which passive onlookers recorded the assault on mobile phones rather than intervening or alerting the authorities, despite the incident occurring merely 30 meters from the local police post.
On the night of the event, both parties were brought to the local police post, where officers reportedly mediated an informal compromise based on vendor footage showing property damage, while the video detailing the mob assault was concealed.
Following public backlash after the brutal footage surfaced online, the Government Railway Police registered a formal suo motu case under Sections 127(2), 115(2), 296(b), 351(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The East Coast Railway also acknowledged the incident at the contractor-operated facility, confirming that the GRP had taken over the investigation and assuring full cooperation with the ongoing legal proceedings.
