Brahmapur: Former Brahmapur MLA Bikram Kumar Panda appeared at Gosaninuagaon police station for the third time Tuesday in connection with allegations that witnesses in advocate Pitabas Panda’s murder case were threatened from inside jail. Panda, who is out on bail in the murder case, was questioned alongside Susant Panigrahi, the then Brahmapur jail doctor, who was also summoned by police. The two were questioned face-to-face by the Brahmapur Town SDPO and the investigating officer. Police had planned to collect their voice samples for spectrography tests to match them with audio recordings of their telephone conversations, made following a court directive.
However, Bikram refused to provide his sample, citing a finger fracture. Police said they would inform the court of his refusal. Panigrahi agreed to provide his voice sample. Panda was questioned for nearly two hours, and the proceedings were videographed. Panda is scheduled to appear again November 16. The case stems from a complaint lodged by advocate and witness Lalit Mohan Mangaraj, who alleged that he received threats from inside jail August 28. Police registered a case (355/26) and began an investigation. During questioning, Panigrahi reportedly admitted that Panda and another accused, Madan Dalai, had used his mobile phone inside the jail.