A local court on Friday granted bail to former Nabarangpur Congress MP Pradip Majhi and his supporters presently lodged in the Umarkote Sub-Jail since last Sunday.
The Assistant Sessions Judge Court granted the conditional bail to Majhi and 18 others.
The court directed them to furnish a guarantor and Rs 20,000-bail bond to secure their release. Besides, the court laid conditions that they would cooperate with police in the investigation and refrain from repeating any such incident as they had been involved with earlier.
Notably, Majhi and 18 other Congress members were arrested on June 26 for allegedly beating up the Raighar Forest Ranger and ransacking the Range office at Raighar during a demonstration demanding land pattas for tribals of Raighar under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and ration cards to eligible poor beneficiaries.
Following their arrest, the Congressmen had launched an indefinite hunger strike in the jail. On Thursday, all the Congress activists barring Majhi withdrew their fast.
It may be mentioned that the State Congress leadership has called a bandh in undivided KBK districts on Saturday demanding strict implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in the State.