The murder case of senior lawyer Pitavas Panda intensified today as 209 lawyers filed a petition in the Berhampur SDJM court opposing the main accused, senior politician and former MLA Vikram Panda.
This mass filing comes after Vikram Panda's lawyer submitted a petition yesterday asserting his client’s innocence and challenging the arrest. Earlier, over 40 lawyers had filed a petition in favor of the former MLA.
Police have arrested a total of 14 people in connection with the fatal shooting on October 6th. Key figures, including main accused Uma Bisoy and snake shooter Kurupti Bhuyan, recently surrendered on the last three court dates.
Sunil Hota and BJD leader Das from Jajpur have also been arrested and are currently under interrogation, with police anticipating more crucial facts to emerge from the recent surrenders.