Eight persons, including Maoist leader Uday, were on Thursday sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by additional district court, Kandhamal, for the murder of seer Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers.
Eight persons, including Maoist leader Uday, were on Thursday sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by additional district court, Kandhamal, for the murder of seer Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers. Additional district judge Rajendra Kumar Tosh, who had earlier convicted the eight persons, also imposed '10,000 fine on each of them while pronouncing the quantum of punishment amid tight security in the communally sensitive district. Expressing satisfaction over the judgment, public prosecutor Anil Kumar Pradhan said the conviction of eight persons and quantum of punishment was the result of thorough police investigation and proper presentation evidences during the trial. Defence counsel Santosh Padhi, however, said his clients were innocent and he would advise them to move the Orissa high court.
