Palpable tension prevailed at the MKCG Medical College Hospital here on Sunday when an advocate from Gunupur was not allowed to meet Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who is undergoing treatment at the medicine ward of the hospital for the last three days.
Panda was admitted to the hospital amidst tight security after he fell ill following his hunger stir in the jail. No lawyer or mediaperson is being allowed to meet him.
When lawyer Brahmananda Patnaik from Gunupur had come to meet Panda on Sunday evening, police personnel did not allow him to do so. The lawyer and policemen started arguing for a while. Some other lawyers present at the spot also opposed this act of the police. Panda’s wife Mili Panda also condemned the incident and warned to file a petition in court in this regard.
Panda, founder leader of Odisha Maobadi Party, began his indefinite hunger strike from January 2 alleging that the jail authorities are not producing him in the Gunupur and Nayagarh courts.