Odisha ADMO Dr Durbadala Mishra murder: Court awards lifer to two convicts

Sonepur: Two persons convicted in the 2014 sensational murder case of ADMO Dr Durbadala Mishra were sentenced to life imprisonment in Odisha. 

Sonepur ADJ Court pronounced the final verdict on the murder case today after 11 years and awarded the life imprisonment to convicts Pratyush Panda alias Bablu and Ashok Sahoo. 

 Along with the jail sentence, the court fined the duo with Rs 25,000 each. 

Paediatrician Dr Durbadala Mishra, the additional district medical officer (ADMO) of Sonepur district government hospital, was brutally killed near his house on September 21, 2014. 

Police had arrested prime accused Bablu of Bada Bazar area of Sonepur town and Ashok Sahu of Babupalli village in connection with the murder case. 

The murder plot was hatched by Bablu, police revealed during investigation. 

According to reports, Pradip Panda, brother of Bablu, had taken his eight-month-old ailing baby Anshu to Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar for treatment earlier. As no improvement was seen in the patient's condition, he accompanied by his brother, visited Dr Mishra’s clinic for treatment.

Soon after Dr Mishra administered an injection, the hands and legs of Panda's ailing son started swelling and he died after some time.

Reacting to the incident, Bablu vowed to take revenge on Dr Mishra. 

Later, on September 4, Pratyush met his friend Ashok and planned the murder of Dr Mishra near a slaughter house at the weekly haat of the town. Their friend Dipak Sahu also joined to execute the plan. 

As per the plan, the trio followed Dr Mishra on September 21 night. As soon as Dr Mishra reached close his house, the three overpowered him and slit open his throat with the help of a wood chopping knife (Katuri) while one of them struck a blow on the face of Dr Mishra and fled the crime scene.