Bhubaneswar, June 30: In a rare case of tough action against a senior IPS officer, the Odisha Government on Tuesday asked Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania to initiate disciplinary proceedings against suspended IPS officer Dayal Gangwar.
In a letter to the DGP, Home Department Additional Secretary Trilochan Majhi asked him to furnish the draft memorandum of charges, articles of charge, statement of imputations of misconduct and memo of evidence immediately for approval of the Government.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on June 18 suspended Gangwar, a ADG-ranked officer, who has been at the centre of a controversy following the Balianta lynching case involving railway constable Soumya Ranjan Swain.
Gangwar was suspended after Swain’s family accused him of harassment and exploitation. The family claims Swain was compelled to serve as Gangwar’s domestic help during his tenure as ADG (Railway) in 2023–24.
“The DGP submitted a confidential report regarding retention of eight govt railway police personnel by Dayal Gangwar for work in his residence, even after his transfer from the post of ADGP railway & coastal security, without approval of the competent authority. A disciplinary proceeding against Gangwar is contemplated on the grounds of grave misconduct as a member of the Indian Police Service,” read the suspension order.
Prior to the suspension, Gangwar had earlier been shunted from the post of ADG (Communication) and assigned as officer on special duty (OSD) in the home department on May 25 — a posting widely seen as punitive and insignificant.
Following the intervention of the NHRC, the Government Railway Police (GRP) submitted a report to the Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) of Odisha police, alleging that Swain was illegally engaged for Gangwar’s domestic work.
Swain, 32, was lynched by a mob on May 7 in the presence e of police personnel after allegations surfaced that he attempted to rape a 22-year-old woman on the roadside. The incident prompted the suspension of four officers and the transfer of the Balianta inspector in-charge. So far, 20 people have been arrested.
