Berhampur: A local court here Tuesday sentenced eight persons to life imprisonment after convicting them for the brutal murder of a co-villager in 2017 at Ambagada village under Berhampur Sadar police limits in Ganjam district over past enmity. The accused were identified as R Hari Patra, 30, R Lokanath Patra, 21, M Danda Patra, 45, K Bairi Patra, 55, K Bhima Patra, 47, M Somesh Patra, 20, B Noi Patra, 37, and B Bhaskar Patra, 21, all residents of the same Ambagada village. The Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Indu Sharma, also slapped a penalty of Rs 15,000 on each of the convicts, apart from the prison term. Failure to pay the penalty would result in an additional one year in prison for all the eight culprits, the judge said. The judge passed the order after examining the statements recorded by 19 witnesses and the chargesheet.
All the convicts were in court during the pronouncement of the order. The murder happened when Hari had a fight with co-villager Budu Patra over past enmity, September 17, 2017. During the fight, Budu beat up Hari and one of his friends.
Later, all of them went back to their respective homes. A meeting was convened at the village community centre and Budu was summoned to the meeting. There Hari and one of his associates attacked Budu over the previous incident. Fearing for his life, Budu fled and took refuge in the house of his brother Ladu Patra. Seeking revenge, Hari and seven of his associates armed with sharp-edged weapons and lathis chased Budu and reached the house of his brother. They demanded that Budu be handed over to them. When Ladu did not oblige, Hari and the others broke open the door and dragged Budu out. They assaulted him injuring him grievously. They also attacked Ladu when the latter tried to save his brother.
Family members rescued a profusely bleeding Budu and rushed him to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Sadar police registered a case over a complaint filed by the Ladu and launched an investigation. Preliminary investigations revealed that the murder took place over past enmity as police arrested all eight persons and produced them in court. The then police IIC and investigative officer, Shiba Shankar Mohapatra also submitted the chargesheet. All the eight convicts who were then serving as undertrials had been released on bail in 2020. Now they will have to serve their respective sentences.