Bhubaneswar: A local court in Bhubaneswar awarded life imprisonment to 5 accused persons in the sensational 2023 Sushant Nayak murder case. 

The Additional District Judge Court, Bhubaneswar, Judge Bandana Kar sentenced all five convicts -- Vishal Nayak, Sujit Nayak, Ajit Nayak, Tikili Nayak and Subash Nayak -- and slapped them with Rs 25,000 fine amount each, failing to which they will serve an additional year in prison. 

Sushant Nayak, a housekeeping staff at Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES) in Aiginia, was hacked to death at GED basti near Unit-III under Capital Police Station area in the wee hours of May 24, 2023.

According to reports, Vishal, Sujit, Ajit, Tikili and Subash chased Sushant while he was returning home after dropping his wife, a BMC worker, and attacked him with a sword and other fatal weapons. 

Reports said that Sujit’s nephew Vishal had allegedly molested Sushant’s niece in April 2023. 

The police investigation revealed that Sujit and his relatives committed the gruesome murder after Sushant's family lodged a molestation complaint at the Capital Police Station on April 25, 2023. 

Sujit, a resident of Nayagarh district, had fled along with other accused after killing Sushant. The police launched an operation and nabbed all five during searches in Cuttack, Nayagarh and Khordha districts.