In a significant development in the high-profile murder case of senior lawyer Pitavas Panda, the five main accused suffered a major setback today.
The local ADJ-3 court on Tuesday rejected the bail applications of the primary accused, BJD district president Vikram Panda, along with former mayor Shiv Shankar Dash, Madan Mohan Dalai, Sunil Hota, and Sawan Das.
Pitavas Panda was tragically shot dead on the night of October 6th. Police later arrested twelve individuals, including Vikram Panda and Shivshankar Das, on October 22nd.
The bail plea hearing took place last Friday. The defense argued that the accused were not given the grounds for arrest and claimed lack of detailed evidence. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its verdict and announced the rejection of the bail applications today.