Constable ‘engaged in home work’, Odisha suspends senior IPS officer | India Information
3 min learnBhubaneswarUp to date: Jun 19, 2026 04:57 AM IST
The Odisha authorities Thursday suspended senior IPS officer Dayal Gangwar following an inquiry into allegations {that a} 32-year-old constable who was lynched at Balianta final month had been illegally engaged in home work whereas serving below him.
Officers mentioned Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi permitted Gangwar’s suspension following an inquiry into allegations that the deceased constable had been illegally engaged in home work. Whereas Gangwar was in a roundabout way linked to the lynchingthe mother and father of constable Soumya Ranjan Swain accused him of “bodily and mentally” harassing their son whereas he labored below him.
The officer couldn’t be reached for touch upon his suspension.
A 1998-batch IPS officer, Gangwar was transferred to the Dwelling Division as OSD on Could 26 in what was extensively seen as a “punishment posting” after Swain’s lynching at Balianta, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, on Could 7 triggered allegations of misuse of official authority.
An ADG-rank officer was assigned to probe the allegations in opposition to Gangwar.
Soumya’s father, Dushasan Swain, alleged that Gangwar, then ADG (Railways), compelled his son to carry out private duties unrelated to official work. He additionally claimed that Gangwar pressured him to put money into a health club owned by an affiliate and didn’t return the cash, including to his stress.
The mother and father additional alleged that the IPS officer had deployed extra workers at his residence than he was entitled to. Reacting to the incident, Swain’s mom, Kabita Swain, mentioned these allegations ought to be introduced throughout the ambit of the lynching probe.
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The Nationwide Human Rights Fee (NHRC), which additionally carried out an inquiry into the lynching, recorded Gangwar’s assertion.
Soumya Ranjan Swain was overwhelmed to loss of life, 16 km from his house at Maujpur in Cuttack, after the motorbike he was driving pillion on collided with a scooter close to a small bridge within the Balianta space close to the state capital. The 2 girls on the scooter accused Swain of trying to sexually assault them, following which a mob of 40-50 individuals allegedly assaulted him and his good friend, Om Prakash Rout, who was driving the motorbike. Rout escaped with minor accidents.
Swain’s household accused Odisha Police of failing to cease the assault. 4 junior cops had been later suspended.
