Berhampur (Odisha), Sep 16 (PTI) Odisha police have registered a fresh case against BJD leader and former Berhampur MLA Bikram Kumar Panda, who was recently released from jail on bail, for allegedly threatening a witness over the phone from prison, in connection with the murder of senior advocate Pitabash Panda, an officer said on Wednesday.
Panda was released from jail on September 1 after the state high court granted him bail, having spent over 10 months in prison.
“We have registered a case against Panda, his close aide Madan Mohan Dalai and the jail doctor at Gosaninuagaon police station on Tuesday after one of the witnesses, Lalit Mangaraj, lodged a complaint against them,” said Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M on Wednesday.
Bikram and Dalai allegedly threatened him on August 28 from the mobile phone of the jail doctor and from his chamber inside the jail, he said.
“After verifying the CCTVs, installed in the doctor’s chamber in the jail and collecting technical evidence, we have registered a fresh case against the trio, including the former MLA,” said the SP.
He said they would write to the administration against the jail doctor for facilitating an accused’s conversation with a witness from the jail.
Panda was arrested on November 6, 2025, along with 15 others, including former mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) Shiva Shankar Das, a BJD corporator Malaya Bisoi and Madan Dalai for allegedly their involvement in the murder of senior advocate Pitabash Panda, also an active member of BJP in October last year. PTI COR BBM BBM RG
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