A fast-track court on Thursday found BJP MLA from G. Udayagiri, Manoj Pradhan, guilty in a murder case during the August 2008 Kandhamal riot case and sentenced him to six years imprisonment.
The Phulbani Fast Track II Judge Chittarranjan Das also imposed on Pradhan a penalty of `15,000 non-payment of which attract another 11 months in prison. Pradhan was convicted under Sections 147, 148, 427, 454 and 556 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Reacting to the judgment, Mr Pradhan said, “I’m innocent. I will appeal against the judgment of the Fast Track court in the upper court.” According to the case diary, a mob led by the MLA on August 25, 2008 attacked Bikram Naik at his Bedinaju residence under the Raikia police station. Naik, who was seriously injured, died two days later.
Kandhamal plunged into turmoil after the murder of Hindu seer Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati by suspected Maoists on June 23, 2008.