Two get lifer for abduction of former Odisha Collector Vineel Krishna

Ayaskant Das Published On : May 24, 2016 at 2:30 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 24:

A local court in Odisha today awarded life sentence to two persons for their alleged involvement in the abduction of former Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna over five years ago.

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Malkangiri Additional District and Sessions Judge court pronounced the judgement and held Tapan Saha and M Dibya alias Shanti guilty in the case. The court, however, acquitted Ghasi Pangi, another accused in the case.

While Saha is a former government employee, Dibya is a hardcore woman Maoist.

Reacting to the verdict, the then DGP Manmohan Praharaj said: “It was a difficult task then to nab the accused in the inaccessible and cut-off areas of Malkangiri. It was a challenge for us to identify those involved in the incident. We took the help of Andhra Pradesh police and officials from other states. The witnesses were apprehensive for which we had to persuade them to give their statements in the court. I am satisfied with the judgement.”

It may be recalled that the former Collector and a junior engineer Pabitra Mahji were abducted by members of Communist Party of India (Maoist) on February 16, 2011.