The Odisha government on Wednesday suspended Indian Police officer Dayal Gangwar for his alleged harassment of slain State Railway Police constable Soumya Ranjan Swain, even if the suspension was not related to the latter’s execution on May 7 near Bhubaneswar. The action came after Swain’s family accused Gangwar of harassing the policeman.
Prime Minister Mohan Sharan Majhi ordered Gangwar’s suspension weeks after he was removed from the post of Additional Director General (ADG) and posted to the Home Ministry as an officer on special duty.
A mob allegedly tied Swain to a pole and assaulted him. The autopsy report showed that he died from severe trauma that caused extensive internal bleeding in the brain.
Gangwar, a 1998 batch IPS officer, has not been linked to the lynching investigation. But Swain’s family accused Gangwar of harassing the policeman during his time working under him in the National Salvation Government.
Swain’s father, Dushasan Swain, alleged that Gangwar forced his son to perform personal tasks unrelated to official duties when the IPS officer was the assistant general manager of GRP. He claimed that his son was forced to work at Gangwar Partners’ gym.
Duchasan Swain said Gangwar made his son pay for expensive protein supplements. “Two containers [of protein supplements] “They were taken away every month,” he said. He alleged that his son was forced to give Gangwar and his son massages for about two hours every morning and evening. The frequent massages caused my son’s hands to swell, forcing him to leave.
Swain’s family maintained that the policeman was suffering from severe mental stress during the period in which he worked under Gangwar and that the alleged mistreatment affected him negatively.
General Manager (Railways) Arun Putra ordered an investigation into the allegations against Gangwar.
