Odisha man set ablaze dies in AIIMS Bhubaneswar; father, stepmother, stepbrother held

Jyoti Ranjan Mathia, a resident of Balipatna in Odisha, was admitted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with 95% burn injuries on Friday

Published on: Aug 16, 2025, 20:26:09 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: The father, stepmother, and stepbrother were arrested hours after a 42-year-old man, who was allegedly set on fire, died in AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Saturday, police said.

His wife, Bijayalaxmi Behera, who admitted him lodged a complaint, accusing the trio of setting her husband ablaze. (Representative photo)

Jyoti Ranjan Mathia, a resident of Balipatna in Odisha, was admitted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with 95% burn injuries on Friday. His wife, Bijayalaxmi Behera, who admitted him lodged a complaint, accusing the trio of setting her husband ablaze to deprive him of his rightful share in the family property.

Police, who initially suspected it to be a case of self-immolation, found a video of the man accusing his father, stepmother, and stepbrother of setting him afire after dousing him with petrol over a property dispute. “Prima facie evidence indicates it was not self-immolation but a murder over land disputes. The postmortem report will further strengthen the investigation,” assistant commissioner of police of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate, Abhimanyu Nayak, said.

Also Read: In Odisha, five deaths by self-immolation highlight poor mental health support

The ACP added that the Balipatna police arrested Ranjan’s father, Surendranath Mathia (74), stepmother, Pravati Mathia (57), and stepbrother, Prasant Kumar Mathia (34), under relevant sections of the BNS. “They were forwarded to court and will be taken on remand for further interrogation,” he added.

Surendranath, a retired assistant sub-inspector of police, had remarried after his first wife’s death. He allegedly transferred a newly purchased land to his second wife and their son, ignoring Jyoti Ranjan. Jyoti Ranjan had been demanding his share of the property.

Behera, who alleged that despite earlier complaints of assault against her mother-in-law the local police had failed to take action, said, “Jyoti Ranjan’s father, stepmother and stepbrother set him ablaze by pouring petrol over him.”

She had earlier filed a written complaint against her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brothers-in-law, alleging that she was being physically and mentally tortured.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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