Bhubaneswar: Odisha witnessed brutal sexual assaults on minors, sensational murders, communal tensions and scams, sparking widespread outrage and political debates this year.
As we bid adieu to 2025, here are some of the most disturbing incidents which shook our collective psyche.
Sahadev Nayak Murder: A 32-year-old sanitation supervisor with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation of in Kedarpalli slum in Bhubaneswar, was beheaded in broad daylight on Rasulgarh overbridge of NH 16 on January 8 due to alleged enmity over his opposition to drug peddling. All accused were arrested.
Death of Nepali Student: A third-year B-Tech student at KIIT in Bhubaneswar allegedly died by suicide, possibly after being blackmailed by another student, on February 16. Advik Srivastava, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, was arrested the following day from outside Bhubaneswar’s airport and charged with abetment of suicide.
Minor kills Adoptive Mother: A Class VIII girl and her two male friends were arrested for allegedly murdering a woman, who had adopted the teenager after rescuing her from the roadside when she was only three days old, at Paralakhemundi town in Gajapati district on April 29. The reason: She opposed her daughter’s relationship with the two young men and the desire to gain control over her property.
Gopalpur Gangrape: A 20-year-old undergraduate student was allegedly gang-raped by 10 men at Gopalpur while she was at the sea beach with a male friend to celebrate Raja festival on June 16. All accused were later arrested after the survivor and her friend filed a complaint at Gopalpur police station.
Survivors of sexual assault kill accused: June also saw a group of women killing a 60-year-old man and setting his body ablaze in Gajapati district for allegedly misbehaving with them and forcing them to enter into physical relationship with him. Police recovered the bones and ashes of the deceased from a hillock near a forest area, about 2 km from the village and arrested 10 people, including eight women.
FM Student Death: A third year BEd student of FM Autonomous College in Balasore set herself ablaze on July 12, protesting inaction over her sexual harassment complaint against a professor. The victim with 90% burn injuries succumbed three days later at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Following which, Assistant professor Samira Kumar Sahu, heading the education department, and suspended principal Dillip Ghos were arrested. Later in August, Subhra Sambit Nayak, ABVP state joint secretary, and college student Jyoti Prakash Biswal were also arrested on charges of abetment to suicide.
Puri Girl ‘Set Ablaze’: A 15-year-old girl, who was allegedly set on fire by three miscreants on the banks of river Bhargavi in Puri district on July 19 and sustained 70 per cent burn injury, succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at AIIMS in New Delhi on August 2. However, following her death, the Odisha Police in a statement said there was no “involvement of any other person in the incident”. It was suspected that she took the extreme step due to trauma and stress regarding personal matters.
Traffic Constable Subhamitra’s Murder: It started as a missing case of traffic constable Subhamitra Sahoo on September 6 and soon turned into a murder with the arrest of her husband Deepak Rout. After Subhamitra’s body was recovered from a forest in Keonjhar, investigation revealed that Deepak had allegedly strangulated his wife inside a car in Bhubaneswar and buried her body at Ghatagaon with the help of 2 aides. Deepak, who was also a police constable, reportedly confessed to the crime during interrogation.
Senior Lawyer Pitabas Panda Murder: Senior lawyer Pitabas Panda was shot dead from point blank range near his residence in Berhampur while returning home around 10 pm on October 6. The case gained media attention with the arrest of former Berhampur MLA and BJD leader Bikram Panda and former Berhampur Municipal Corporation Mayor Shiva Shankar Das alias Pintu Das among others. Police said Panda and Das were the key conspirators and orchestrated the murder over alleged political, personal and financial disputes.
SI Recruitment Scam: The Odisha Sub-Inspector recruitment scam of 2025 exposed large-scale irregularities in the Combined Police Service Examination 2024. The exam, scheduled for October 5 and 6, was indefinitely postponed after allegations surfaced about leaked question papers. Investigations revealed that candidates allegedly paid between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh to access leaked papers. The scam was found to involve an interstate network spanning Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. Though Odisha Crime Branch initially probed the case, the CBI later took over. Around 130 people were arrested, including the alleged mastermind Shankar Prusty and 114 SI aspirants.
Cuttack Clashes: Cuttack city witnessed violent clashes between groups at Dargha Bazaar in October during Durga Puja idol immersion procession, which later escalated into fresh violence after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad rally. This led to curfews and internet shutdowns in affected areas.
Malkangiri Unrest: Internet services were suspended in Odisha’s Malkangiri district and prohibitory orders under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were imposed in two villages following a clash between tribal villagers and Bengali settler after headless body of 51-year-old tribal widow Lake Padiami from Rakhelguda village was recovered from Poteru riverbank on December 4. Several platoons of Central Armed Police Force and the Odisha Police Force were deployed and the district administration held dialogue with both communities to restore normalcy in the area.
Dhauli gangrape case: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped on December 10 near Lingipur canal road on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar while she and her male friend were returning from visiting the Dhauli Shanti Stupa. The girl was subjected to sexual assault for around three hours after they expressed their inability to pay Rs 50,000, which the anti-socials had allegedly demanded after snatching away their scooter’s key. Three persons, including key accused Satya Prakash Hati alias Happy, a history-sheeter with 18 prior cases against him, have been arrested, while two more are on the run.
Bhadrak rape-murder: The alleged rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Baligaon village of Bhadrak district rocked Odisha again on December 24. The blood-soaked body of the Class 3 student was found near a bush in Baligaon under Chandbali police limits, almost 6 hours after she left home at 2 pm on December 23. Police have arrested a 30-year-old co-villager of the victim in connection with the incident.
Around 37,611 cases of crimes against women were reported between June 2024 and July 2025 in the state, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi had told the Assembly in September.