Ex-BJD Rajya Sabha MP surrenders in abduction, murder case after top court cancels bail

Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP N. Bhaskar Rao on Monday surrendered before a court in Odisha’s Rayagada district, two weeks after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail in a case pertaining to the abduction and murder of a tribal leader in 2010, officials said.

Rao appeared before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court along with three other accused — Epili Sanyasi Raju, P. Dilip Kumar and G. Krishna Rao. The court rejected their bail applications and remanded all four in judicial custody. They were subsequently sent to Rayagada jail.

Another accused, A. Adinarayana, is yet to surrender, while the sixth accused, Ela Venkata Rao alias Kandababu, died a few days ago.

The Supreme Court on October 26 had set aside the bail granted to Bhaskar Rao by the Orissa High Court on January 22 this year and directed him to surrender before the SDJM court within two weeks. The order was passed by a bench while hearing a special leave petition filed by Jagannath Mandangi, the brother of the victim Bhagirathi Mandangi.

Mandangi was abducted and murdered on December 15, 2010. His charred body, with his hands and legs tied, was found floating in a dam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Rao and six others were accused in the case. The high court had earlier granted them regular bail, but the Supreme Court subsequently overturned the order and directed the accused to surrender unconditionally.

The murder had triggered protests by the Adivasi Mahasangha in Rayagada in 2021 and 2023, with the organisation demanding a speedy and impartial investigation. The outfit alleged Mandangi was killed because he had detected and raised his voice against irregularities in the management of a temple.

Following the protests, the then state government ordered a Crime Branch investigation into the murder. However, the probe allegedly made little progress.

Aggrieved over the delay, Jagannath Mandangi filed a petition before the Rayagada SDJM court in February this year, seeking action in the case.

Mandangi's advocate Samuel Tandi said the court issued non-bailable warrants against the accused on the basis of evidence and witness statements. The case has been registered under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (common intention) of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) had recently searched Bhaskar Rao's residence in Rayagada and several establishments in connection with an alleged ₹80-crore embezzlement of funds belonging to a truck owners' association.

The investigators seized several important documents and ₹7 lakh in cash during the searches, officials said.