Baliguda: A local court handed down life imprisonment to six persons, including a supari killer, after convicting them in the murder case of an RTI activist in Baliguda area of Kandhamal district, Monday. The deceased was identified as Abhimanyu Panda, a trader by profession and a Right to Information (RTI) Act activist in Baliguda area. He was opposing the usurping of Jagannath temple land and houses in Baliguda area.
As a result, some people connived against him and eliminated him by hiring a supari killer. Apart from the punishment, District and Sessions Judge Rupashree Choudhury in Berhampur also slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 on each of the convicts. In default, all the convicts have to undergo an additional year of imprisonment, Public Prosecutor Trilochan Parida said. The court passed the order after examining the statements of 22 witnesses and the police chargesheet, Parida added. The convicts were identified as Rama Narayan Nahak, 25, alias Golak of Haridapadar Tarsingh village, his associates Kanhu Charan Sahu, 27, of Kharia Humki village under Aska police limits, K Biswajit Patra, 47, of Sunapanka village in Kandhamal district, and supari killer Bablu Muni, 35, of Badamuni Sahi at MG Road in Aska were produced in the court under tight security during pronouncement of the verdict. Two others, identified as S Balaji Patra, 34, of Bandhasahi in Baliguda and Rasbihari Das, 34, a resident of Bandhaguda under Baliguda police limits, were out on bail but did not appear in the court during pronouncement of the order.
After an arrest warrant was issued, police arrested them from Goilundi in Berhampur and produced in the court. According to the case diary, Panda was shot dead by the convicts, December 10, 2019. Acting on a complaint fi led by the deceased’s cousin Nirmal Sahu, police registered a case and arrested Golak, his associate Kanhu Charan, key conspirator K Biswajit, S Balaji and Rasbihari, December 29, 2019 and produced them in the court. Later supari killer Bablu was also produced in the court.
