Odisha Court Sentences 5 To Death For Politician's Murder In 2019

A court in Odisha’s Keonjhar district has sentenced five persons to death for the murder of politician Rama Chandra Behera in 2019.

The additional district and sessions judge of Anandpur pronounced the verdict on Tuesday based on the testimony of 53 witnesses and 94 documents, additional public prosecutor Aswini Kumar Mallick said.

The five convicts are Sanjay Prusty, Ajit Prusty, Arun Prusty, Alekh Prusty and Dola Boitei. One of the accused Pramod Das, who was a minor then, is under judicial custody of a child care institute (CCI), Mallick added.

Rama Chandra Behera, a former block chairman, was brutally murdered near his residence at Dhakotha village in Keonjhar district on March 25, 2019, prior to the general and state assembly polls.

The perpetrators visited Rama Chandra Behera’s house, called him out, and then killed him. Additionally, they mutilated his body.

He was initially taken to the sub-divisional hospital in Anandpur and subsequently referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. However, he succumbed to his injuries on the way to Cuttack, police said.

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