Badagada Police have arrested 20-year-old habitual offender Soumya Ranjan Rath for intentionally driving his Tata Nexon car into bystanders on the Puri Bypass Road, near SR Valley Chhaka, said Zone 4 ACP Abhimanyu Nayak.
The incident occurred around 7:30 AM when complainant Ratikanta Singh and his wife saw Rath hit a pedestrian and speed off.
As bystanders gathered to help the injured person, Rath abruptly turned his vehicle around, drove from the wrong direction, and deliberately rammed into the crowd with the intent to kill. Bystanders detained Rath after his car engine stalled during another turnaround attempt.
Police seized the Tata Nexon along with three damaged vehicles. Investigation revealed that Rath had previously targeted staff at Darling Dhaba on the same morning. Out on bail for a July 2026 fatal hit-and-run in Shastri Nagar under Kharavel Nagar PS, Rath violated his bail conditions.
He now faces five criminal cases across Badagada and Kharavela Nagar police stations and has been remanded to judicial custody.
