Cuttack: The Orissa High Court Thursday granted conditional bail to Odisha Stevedores Limited (OSL) chief Mahimananda Mishra who was arrested for allegedly masterminding the sensational murder of Seaways Shipping and Logistics Limited (SSLL) general manager (GM) Mahendra Swain in October 2016.
The conditions of bail will be decided by a lower court, a division bench of Justice Debabrata Dash said while granting the breather.
According to Mishra’s lawyer, Jaydeep Pal, his client is likely to walk out on bail Friday. “A court in Kujang will hear the case Friday. My client can walk free after fulfilling the conditions laid by the court,” Pal said.
Earlier in July 2017, the HC had granted bail to Mishra. The state government, however, moved the Supreme Court challenging the HC ruling. The apex court had nixed the HC ruling.
Sources said the HC in September this year had asked Mishra to approach a lower court for bail. The lower court, however, quashed Mishra’s bail plea October 4, prompting the OSL chief to approach the HC again for bail.
According to sources, the case dates back to October 26, 2016 when Swain was shot dead near Ambedkar Bhawan at Madhuban Colony in the coastal town of Paradip. “Miscreants had hurled bombs at the vehicle in which Swain was travelling. Swain alighted from the vehicle and ran for cover. The desperadoes fired two rounds of bullets at Swain leading to his death on the spot,” said a source.
Soon after, Mahendra’s brother Rajkishore Swain approached Paradip police alleging that the murder was masterminded by the OSL chief. Police issued a lookout circular against Mishra and other top officials of his stevedoring firm.
In December 2016, the OSL chief was detained by Thailand police in Bangkok. And a team of Odisha Police brought him back to the state and arrested him in connection with the murder.
Police attributed the cause of Swain’s murder to business rivalry between OSL and the Hyderabad-based SSLL. While 16 persons have been charge-sheeted in the case, four of them are still on the run.
