Cuttack: In a setback to Dhamnagar MLA Muktikanta Mandal, the Orissa High Court Thursday rejected his anticipatory bail plea filed in connection with the alleged murder of Niranjan Jena.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra asked the legislator to seek bail from a lower court in Bhadrak, which is now hearing the murder case. The HC also directed the Bhadrak district sessions court to take a call on Mandal’s bail plea as per the procedure it had earlier followed while granting bail to other accused in the case.
While seeking anticipatory bail, Mandal had claimed that he was not involved in Jena’s murder. The public prosecutor, however, opposed the MLA’s bail plea and informed justice Mishra that the HC had directed the Bhadrak district sessions court to consider Mandal as accused in the case.
Six persons had allegedly assaulted Niranjan Jena with iron rods and sharp-edged weapons November 3, 2002. Jena had died while being rushed to a hospital at Dhamnagar.
The victim’s uncle Duhshasana had filed an FIR in Basudevpur police station and mentioned Mandal, the then Dhamnagar panchayat samiti chairperson and several others including Basanta Nayak, Ganesh Nayak, Raghunath Jena, Jaykrushna Rout and Nepal Barik as accused.
However, Basudevpur police had omitted the names of Mandal and his close associate Nepal Barik from the accused list while filing chargesheet in Bhadrak district sessions court. The lower court had rejected a plea by the victim’s uncle to consider Mandal and Barik as accused.
The HC, however, accepted a petition by the victim’s uncle and directed the lower court to consider the MLA as accused. The HC also asked the lower court to complete the hearing within six months.
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