Muslim Man Lynched in Odisha for Transporting Cattle; Police Initially Label it 'Road Accident'

Key Points

Odisha police have arrested three persons in connection with the lynching of a 35-year-old Muslim man in Balasore district in the early hours of 14 January 2026. The victim, identified as Sheikh Makandar Mahammad of Astia village, died during treatment at Balasore District Headquarters Hospital after being brutally assaulted. Police said they have also identified eight others who were present at the spot when the attack took place and that appropriate action would be taken against them.

According to official statements, Mahammad was travelling in a pickup van allegedly carrying a cow near Jayadeva Kasba when a group intercepted the vehicle and attacked him. A video later circulated online purportedly showed the victim being forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Gau Mata ki Jai”. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eastern Range, Pinak Mishra confirmed that three accused, Saroj Kumar Behera, Chinmay Kumar Das and Sagar Mahalik, had been arrested for their involvement in the crime.

However, the case has raised serious questions about the initial police response. Balasore Sadar police first registered an FIR treating the incident as a road accident caused by rash driving and an overturned vehicle. The complaint mentioned only the recovery of a cow at the site and booked the van owner and driver under laws related to animal cruelty and cattle protection. There was no mention of any assault in this first FIR.

See Also: “It Is About Religion”: Muslim Cattle Trader Lynched by Mob in Jharkhand, Family Alleges Targetted Attack

The course of the investigation changed only after the victim’s brother, Jitendar Mahammad, filed a second complaint on the evening of January 14. He alleged that five men had stopped the van and attacked his brother with deadly weapons. Based on this, police registered a case of murder committed by a mob under Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. 

Jitendar, who was also in the vehicle, told police that Mahammad had been driving the van. He later told Alt News that his brother had grievous injuries on his head, arms, legs and face, and that he died within minutes of being admitted to hospital. Family members further claimed that Mahammad personally named his attackers while on his hospital bed and that the assailants were not strangers. They said he recognised them from his locality.

Balasore Superintendent of Police Pratyush Diwakar said five accused had been detained, of whom three were arrested and forwarded to court. He added that investigations were continuing to determine whether more people were involved. He declined to comment on whether the attack was communally motivated.

Meanwhile, the case has also drawn attention to organised cow vigilantism in the area. Members of Bajrang Dal staged a protest outside the Balasore SP office on 16 January 1016, claiming their local gau raksha chief, Paban Kumar Bhoi, and associates were detained without evidence, alleging that the Muslim youth died because of a cart overturning.

Police officials have acknowledged that two separate FIRs exist in the Balasore case but have not yet clarified how the circumstances in both will be reconciled in court.

The arrests mark the first formal action against the accused, but families, activists and legal observers continue to question why the incident was initially treated as an accident rather than a crime of violence.

Beyond the immediate case, official data cited in a Home Department internal report suggests a wider pattern. More than 220 incidents of conflict related to cow transportation and slaughter have been recorded across Odisha over the past four years. This lynching also follows another recent killing of a migrant Muslim labourer in Sambalpur district in December 2025, where the victim was reportedly asked to prove his nationality before being attacked.

[DS]

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