A local court on Friday extended till July 31 the interim bail granted to BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan, accused of inciting communal riots in Orissa's Kandhamal district.
The fast track court of Sovan Kumar Das in Phulbani extended the bail period of Pradhan, who was granted conditional interim bail for 15 days on July four.
The extension was granted to him on the basis of Orissa High Court's order, special public prosecutor Bijay Patnaik said.
After taking oath as a member of Orissa Assembly following his release on July 5, a day after getting bail, Pradhan had moved the court seeking extension of the bail period to enable him to attend Assembly proceedings.
Pradhan, lodged in jail since his arrest in October last year on the charges of murder, riot and arson, won from G Udaygiri assembly seat in the tribal dominated district of Kandhamal in May.