Top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda was produced in court here on Monday in connection with three cases. The case pertaining to the arrest of the Maoist leader from Brahampur has gone from lower court to the higher court. The witnesses in two other cases could not remain present in the court for which the examination could not take place, sources said.
According to information available, there are two witnesses in the case pertaining to unlawful supply of guns. While one police officer is currently working in the department, the other witness has retired. Though both the witnesses were served summons repeatedly to attend the court, but they did not make it to the court on Monday. The court has written several letters to the SP to ensure the presence of both the police officials. Two other independent witnesses, namely, Prasant Pattnaik and Sweety Dalabehera, also could not reach the court and their whereabouts are reportedly not known, sources said. The next hearing of the case has been fixed for February 21.
Similarly, the court has also fixed the hearing of another case for the same date in which both Sabyasachi and social activist Dandapani Mohanty were reportedly involved with an incident in which one Sarapanch of Daringibadi area was allegedly moving suspiciously in front of Dandapani Mohanty’s house in Shanti Nagar area of Brahampur in 2011 and was arrested by the local police. If Dandapani Mohanty fails to remain present in the court on the next date, the above case is likely to be tried in the next higher court, sources said.
In the mean time, Sabyasachi’s advocate Deepak Kumar Pattnaik made an appeal before the court to delete the names of those witnesses who remained absent in spite of repeated court summons. Meanwhile, a rumour that some Maoist leaders including a female Maoist leader of West Bengal cadre Geeta have hidden in the silk city has posed a challenge for the city police. According to some observers, Geeta might have come to Brahmapur after getting the news of Sangram Mohanty having been released from jail.