Odisha Police have arrested a 20-year-old law student for allegedly driving his family’s high-speed car under the influence of alcohol and crashing into a two-wheeler, which resulted in the death of an air-conditioner mechanic.
The fatal accident occurred around 10:40 p.m. on Monday (July 13, 2026). The accused, Soumya Ranjan Rath (20), son of a prominent builder, was driving a Mercedes car with a minor girl from the Jayadev Vihar area towards the Sastri Nagar locality.
The deceased, Deviprasad Routray (37), was riding his bike and had just begun to make a U-turn when Rath’s car rammed into him. The impact of the collision was so severe that the car came to a halt after dragging the deceased’s vehicle about 100 metres.
Locals immediately took the two inside the car into their custody and were about to thrash them when the police rescued them. The minor girl was sent to a short-stay home.
According to Commissionerate Police of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, a breath-analyser test conducted on Rath revealed 127 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, more than four times the legal limit of 30 mg under the Motor Vehicles Act.
As per the case registered in the Kharavelanagar police station in the city, the law student was charged under Section U/S 281 (rash or negligent driving), 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 106(1) BNS (causing death by negligence), and 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act (driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs).
Family members of the deceased, who was the sole breadwinner, demanded the strictest punishment for the accused, as they felt no guilt for causing the accident that took the life of a man who struggled hard to earn a livelihood.
Published - July 15, 2026 12:20 pm IST