Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), probing the brutal Balianta violence, on Wednesday questioned the two young women who had previously levelled allegations of molestation against the victim, GRP constable Soumya Ranjan Swain, alongside several other individuals associated with the case.
Among others present for questioning were Soumya’s friend, Om Prakash Rout, who was with him during the incident, former Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) of Balianta police station, Anil Kumar Parida, an ambulance driver and Dr Laxmidhar Behra from Capital Hospital, who conducted the postmortem.
Speaking to the media after his session with the commission, Dr Behra stated that the NHRC sought clarity regarding the specific findings of the autopsy report and the exact cause of death.
As Om Prakash exited the building under a tight police escort, he was immediately surrounded by reporters attempting to gain clarity on the case details. Visuals from the scene show a chaotic scramble
as police personnel worked to move him safely through a dense crowd of cameramen and journalists. When asked continuously if he knew the woman being linked to the case, he explicitly denied any connection, stating to the media, “No, I do not know them”.
According to the ambulance driver, they received the initial distress call at 11:06 am on the morning of the incident (May 7). They arrived at the designated spot in Ramchandrapur at 11:34 am but found none. The driver further clarified that they attempted to contact the original caller. “The caller told us that the patient had already been sent in a private car, so we had to log a ‘return’ case and head back,” he added.
When questioned about the unfolding mob violence, the driver noted that while a crowd had gathered near the bridge and internal roads, they remained unaware of the clash or the severity of the assault.
According to sources, the commission is focusing heavily on the timeline of the attack, specifically how a minor vehicle collision escalated into a violent confrontation, and how a mob managed to brutally beat Soumya to death in the presence of bystanders.
The NHRC team has already visited the crime scene and met Soumya’s grieving family to record their statements.
On May 30, family members of the GRP constable staged a protest and demanded polygraph test of the two women, who had alleged that he had molested them, and also Om Prakash to elicit more information as he was present with him on the day of the incident. They questioned the motive behind not invoking specific sections of mob lynching under the BNS in connection with Soumya’s murder.