Constable ‘engaged in domestic work’, Odisha suspends senior IPS officer

Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2026 23:26:28 +0000 Extracted Body: The Odisha government Thursday suspended senior IPS officer Dayal Gangwar following an inquiry into allegations that a 32-year-old constable who was lynched at Balianta last month had been illegally engaged in domestic work while serving under him. Officials said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi approved Gangwar’s suspension following an inquiry into allegations that the deceased constable had been illegally engaged in domestic work. While Gangwar was not directly linked to the lynching, the parents of constable Soumya Ranjan Swain accused him of “physically and mentally” harassing their son while he worked under him. The officer could not be reached for comment on his suspension. A 1998-batch IPS officer, Gangwar was transferred to the Home Department as OSD on May 26 in what was widely seen as a “punishment posting” after Swain’s lynching at Balianta, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, on May 7 triggered allegations of misuse of official authority. An ADG-rank officer was assigned to probe the allegations against Gangwar. Soumya’s father, Dushasan Swain, alleged that Gangwar, then ADG (Railways), forced his son to perform personal duties unrelated to official work. He also claimed that Gangwar pressured him to invest in a gym owned by an associate and did not return the money, adding to his stress. The parents further alleged that the IPS officer had deployed more staff at his residence than he was entitled to. Reacting to the incident, Swain’s mother, Kabita Swain, said these allegations should be brought within the ambit of the lynching probe. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which also conducted an inquiry into the lynching, recorded Gangwar’s statement. Soumya Ranjan Swain was beaten to death, 16 km from his home at Maujpur in Cuttack, after the motorcycle he was riding pillion on collided with a scooter near a small bridge in the Balianta area near the state capital. The two women on the scooter accused Swain of attempting to sexually assault them, following which a mob of 40-50 people allegedly assaulted him and his friend, Om Prakash Rout, who was driving the motorcycle. Rout escaped with minor injuries. Swain’s family accused Odisha Police of failing to stop the assault. Four junior police officers were later suspended.