In a shocking incident in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, a man who was allegedly assaulting a woman was lynched by a local mob in Balianta, on May 7.
As per reports, two young women were going on a scooter when they were allegedly run over by two men who had chased them on a motorcycle. Both fell down, and the leg of one woman came under the wheel. The chasing men, identified as Railway constable Soumyaranjan Swain and a gym trainer named Om Raut, started abusing the women and one man, the constable Swain, started dragging and pulling one of the women away. He also reportedly tried to kiss her and groped her.
#Bhubaneswar | Bhubaneswar Horror: Two women run over by bike, dragged on road; forcibly kissed; mob beats ‘accused’ to death#Odisha pic.twitter.com/t80CH93Gnr
— OTV (@otvnews) May 7, 2026
The women, who were already injured due to the accident caused by the motorcycle, shouted for help and tried to fight the man off. Meanwhile, the other man realised that they had ‘targeted the wrong woman’. He started telling his friend that they had targeted the wrong woman, and they should stop.
One of the victims have stated that she and her friend had never met Swain or Raut and had no idea who they were.
As per the statement of one of the victims, the assaulter, who was appeared drunk, continued his beating and abuse. The woman was badly injured, and due to their cries for help, locals gathered at the spot. Some of the people rushed to help the women, and covered the woman who was being groped and beaten by the drunk person. The injured women were sent to the hospital by the locals.
In the meanwhile, the assaulter, allegedly in a drunken condition, started abusing and beating the locals who were trying to stop him. The locals got enraged and the man was beaten to death on the spot.
The incident has sparked massive outrage in the state because a police van was present at the spot when the mob violence was taking place and the policemen were unable to stop the mob from beating Swain to death. It has been reported that the enraged locals had tied the hands and legs of Swain on a steel pipe and hung him. When the police finally mmanaged to pacify the mob and sent both men to hospital, Swain was declared brought dead.
One of the women victims has stated that the family members of the deceased Soumyaranjan have blamed them for instigating a mob, but that allegation is wrong. She has stated that they did not know either of the men, and they were only calling for help to escape from the assault by Soumya and his friend. She has stated that she understands the family’s grief because their son has died, but the way she and her friend were being assaulted, had the locals not intervened, they would have faced a horrific situation at the hands of the assaulter. She also adds that the other man had repeatedly shouted, ‘This is the wrong woman, but the assaulter did not listen.
As per reports by Odia media, there are multiple angles in this case. The deceased Sumyaranjan Swain was allegedly arrested earlier over the complaint of a woman. Additionally, despite being officially posted under GRP Cuttack, he was reportedly working at the gym owned by a prominent IPS officer in the state.
