Dandapani freed from tower blast charge
Paralakhemundi: Maoist negotiator Dandapani Mohanty was on Friday freed by the Gajapati District and Sessions Judge Court here in one of the cases in the absence of witnesses and evidences against him. The court made the decision after hearing the 2011 Aliganda BSNl tower explosion case. However, Mohanty is still lodged in the Paralakhemundi jail as many other cases are pending against him. He was arrested from his residence in Brahmapur on February 8, 2013 on charges of providing logistics to Maoists as well as being involved in other extremist activities.
Asaram devotees expect his bail
Athagarh: local devotees of jailed Asaram Bapu have wished for an early release of their guru and claimed that his suffering of jail term is on fraudulent grounds. The Government has knowingly arrested Bapu as he was publicly preaching against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, for which the Congress had debacle in the recent Assembly elections and would also be defeated in the coming general elections, said a devotee. The devotees of Cuttack also hoped that Asaram Bapu would get bail on January 7, the day when his bail petition would be moved.
Ganja plants worth Rs 2 cr destroyed in G’pati
Paralakhemundi: Ganja plants worth over Rs 2 crore was destroyed in Mohana block of the Maoist-hit Gajapati district on Friday. On a tip-off about illegal ganja cultivation in deep forest areas near Poipani village, a raid was conducted by the police with assistance of a special team of the Revenue Department. Over 8,000 ganja plants were cut in the vast area. But there has been no arrest in this connection. It is alleged that mafias from outside the State are cultivating ganja in the district.
Rourkela artists’ camp from Jan 6
Rourkela: The Odisha lalit Kala Academy, in collaboration with the Rourkela Cultural Academy, will organise a State-level artists’ camp and exhibition in the Cultural Academy premises here from December 6 to 8. Cultural Academy general secretary Akshaya Samal said around 12 outstanding artists from the State including Aparna Ray, lipishree Nayak, Ashutosh Patra, Nigamananda Swain, Gajendra Sahoo, Jayant Deb Ray, Nirmal Kumar Basa, Gokulananda Dash, Kashinath Patra, Purna Chandra Mahato, Rajendra Mherer and Anirudha Sahoo would attend the camp.