5 People Given Life Sentence for Murder of Odisha RTI Activist

Berhampur: A court in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Monday sentenced five people to life imprisonment after convicting them for the murder of a Right to Information (RTI) activist in Kandhamal district’s Baliguda town about five years ago.

District and Session Court judge Rupashree Choudhury pronounced the judgment after examining 22 witnesses.

The convicts were involved in the murder of Abhimanyu Panda (46) of Baliguda on December 10, 2019.

Though the incident occurred at Baliguda in Kandhamal district, the trial of the case was held here with the direction of the high court.

The victim's family had requested the High Court to transfer the trial of the case to Berhampur.

Though the deceased was an RTI activist, the murder had no connection with his RTI activities. An Enmity between the deceased and one of the convicts over the land dispute in Jagannath temple in Baliguda was the actual cause behind the incident, according to the prosecution.

As per police records, Panda was one of the members of the Jagannath temple development committee, Baliguda. One of the convicts had hired supari (contract) killers to eliminate Panda.

Two supari killers, on a motorcycle, gunned down Panda at close range as he came out of his house.

Panda was declared dead on arrival when he was rushed to a hospital. One of the deceased person's relatives, had lodged an FIR with the police at Baliguda.

On December 29, 2019, the police arrested five people from different areas in Kandhamal and Ganjam districts. 

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