What began as an early-morning argument at a roadside eatery on the Kataka-Puri Bypass escalated into an intentional car attack that police have now charged as attempted murder — the second major case in three months against the same young law student.
Soumya Ranjan Rath, a fifth-year law student and son of builder Shiv Shekhar Rath (Jayadev Vihar), was arrested by Badagada police on Monday after he allegedly drove a Tata Nexon EV into a group of people and parked vehicles near SR Valley Chhak / Kesora. Four people, including dhaba owner Tapan Das, were injured and at least seven motorcycles were damaged. Rath, who had been out on bail since August in a July fatal crash, has now been booked under attempt-to-murder provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with other serious sections. Four fresh cases have been registered against him at Badagada station.
CCTV shows deliberate turns and repeated attempts
According to Zone-4 ACP Abhimanyu Nayak, an argument with the dhaba owner and staff triggered the incident. Rath, accompanied by two friends, initially left the spot. CCTV footage shows him driving 300–400 metres ahead, turning around, and deliberately accelerating toward people and vehicles on the roadside. He made a second attempt via another route before the electric vehicle stalled on the third try. Locals caught him as he tried to flee and handed him over to police. He was taken to Capital Hospital for a medical examination before being produced in court.
Police say the car was used as a weapon with clear intent to cause death or serious injury. Medical checks confirmed he was under the influence of alcohol — mirroring the circumstances of his earlier case. Rath is now viewed as a habitual offender; he already had one case at Kharavel Nagar police station from July, bringing the total to five.
The July Mercedes crash that killed an AC mechanic
On the night of July 13, Rath was driving a Mercedes when he struck and killed 37-year-old AC mechanic Debiprasad Routray near Sastri Nagar Square. A breathalyser test recorded 127 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood — more than four times the legal limit. The victim, originally from the Tirtol / Jagatsinghpur area and the sole breadwinner for his wife and young daughter, died on the spot. Rath, then travelling with a female companion, was arrested the next day, charged with rash driving, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and drunk driving, and later released on bail.
Licence cancellation and further probe underway
A team from the Bhubaneswar Regional Transport Office has already begun the process of cancelling Rath’s driving licence (previously suspended after the July case) and revoking the registration of the Tata Nexon EV involved in Monday’s rampage. Investigators are also examining the ownership of the vehicle and items recovered from it, including an identity card belonging to Additional DCP Tapan Kumar Patnaik, to determine whether it is genuine.
Police have stated that the sequence of events, the role of the companions, and the exact trigger of the dhaba argument remain under active investigation. The cases are being treated as distinct from the earlier fatal crash, but the repeat pattern of alleged drunk and reckless driving has intensified public and official scrutiny.
With multiple serious charges now pending and authorities moving to cancel both his licence and the vehicle’s registration, Rath’s rapid return to custody has renewed questions about how a person facing a fatal-hit case was able to resume driving so soon after securing bail.
