Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA and Ganjam district president Bikram Panda has been arrested along with 11 others, including former Berhampur mayor Siba Shankar Das, for allegedly masterminding the killing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and senior lawyer Pitabas Panda earlier this month.
Police said the murder stemmed from a mix of personal enmity, political rivalry and financial disputes between the two men, once known to be close associates in Berhampur’s political circles. The 12 who have been charged with murder, conspiracy under BNSS and Arms Act were produced before a local court on Wednesday.
Pitabash Panda (52), a member of the Odisha Bar Council, was shot dead on October 6 night near his Berhampur residence after two motorcycle-borne men greeted him before one of them fired at his chest from point-blank range, killing him within minutes. The country-made pistol used in the attack was later recovered from a beach near the Ganjam-Puri border. Kurupati Bhuyan, a local youth who fired at Panda, is yet to be arrested.
Berhampur SP Vivek Saravana, who led 6 teams of investigators, said Bikram Panda and his associate Sibasankar Das (former mayor) were the “main conspirators”, allegedly driven by political insecurity and financial conflicts.
{{/usCountry}}Berhampur SP Vivek Saravana, who led 6 teams of investigators, said Bikram Panda and his associate Sibasankar Das (former mayor) were the “main conspirators”, allegedly driven by political insecurity and financial conflicts.
{{/usCountry}}“They hired local criminals Malaya Bisoi and Madan Dalei to execute the plan, who in turn roped in one Uma Bisoi to arrange shooters from Bihar. A team of sharpshooters from Bihar visited Berhampur between September 10 and 14 to track the BJP leader’s movements. The first attempt on Pitabas Panda’s life was to be made on September 14, but had to be aborted after one of the shooters returned to Bihar following a family emergency,” Saravana said.
A second team was then formed, comprising local youths Kurupati Bhuyan and Chintu Pradhan, the latter from Bengaluru. They were promised ₹8 lakh — ₹5 lakh for firing and ₹3 lakh for driving.
On October 6, the duo waited outside Pitabas’s house on a motorcycle. As the lawyer approached, they greeted him before Kurupati Bhuyan opened fire and Chintu sped away. The two changed clothes in the city and sped away in the same motorcycle near Rameswar before fleeing separately — Kurupati to Puri and later to Jeypore, and Chintu to Bengaluru. Kurupati was sheltered for four days by one Sunil Hota, an associate of Bikram Panda, before being moved out of state.
Police said the total quotation for the murder was pegged at ₹50 lakh, with ₹10 lakh paid as advance. Uma Bisoi who looked after the logistics and shooter Kurupati Bhuyan still remain fugitive.
Bikram Panda and Sibasankar, the police said, joined hands to eliminate Pitabas Panda as both felt the latter was the reason behind their political and financial decline.
“Das also had personal reasons as Panda was lawyer for the accused in the 2013 murder case of his aide Shanti Mishra. Das nursed a grudge against Panda for getting the accused bail in the case. He had also previously lodged an FIR against Panda in an attempt-to-murder case following earlier assassination attempts. Though Pitabas Panda and Bikram Panda were friends some years ago, they fell out with each other after the former felt that Bikram hindered his chances of becoming an office-bearer in state bar council election despite getting the largest number of votes. He also thought Pitabas was cutting him out of several business deals using his influence after the BJP government came to power last year,” SP Saravana said.
Police said Bikram also orchestrated a petition in the Orissa high court, challenging the election of current BJP MLA K Anil Kumar who had defeated BJD candidate Ramesh Chyaupatnaik hoping that in the event HC invalidates the election, a bypoll for Berhampur Assembly seat would be held again in which he would contest. “He also assured Sibasankar Das that once he wins the bypoll, he would ensure that Das becomes mayor of Berhampur municipal corporation. The entire funding of the election was borne by Bikram Panda,” the police said.
Panda, who began his political career with the Congress, joined the BJD in 2018 and won the Berhampur Assembly seat the following year. He lost the 2024 polls from Gopalpur assembly constituency to BJP candidate.
Police said four other people are still under the scanner of the investigators and would be arrested soon.
Following the murder, the Bar Council of India urged the state government to constitute an SIT under a senior IPS officer to probe the incident. “All perpetrators, conspirators, and facilitators must be apprehended without delay, custodial interrogation ensured where warranted, and recovery of weapons and digital evidence secured. Any lapses in beat intelligence, preventive action, or local station response must be examined immediately, with errant officials placed under suspension pending inquiry,” the BCI said, demanding a Special Public Prosecutor during the trial.