Bhubaneswar: The Berhampur police on Sunday filed a chargesheet in the high-profile murder case of BJP leader and senior lawyer Pitabash Panda, who was killed in the city on October 6 last year.
According to reports, the 1,660-page chargesheet was submitted to the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Berhampur in two large tin boxes.
Panda, a member of the Odisha State Bar Council, was shot by two bike-borne assailants while returning home on his scooter around 10 pm. He sustained bullet injuries to his chest and was rushed to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in critical condition but was declared dead on arrival.
A total of 16 people have been arrested in connection with the case, including BJD leader and former Berhampur MLA Bikram Panda and former Berhampur mayor Siba Shankar Das.
Police claimed that the murder was allegedly motivated by political, business, and professional rivalries involving the key accused. The conspirators reportedly hired sharpshooters to carry out the attack.
