Man sentenced to life for 2013 murder

Berhampur: The district and sessions court, Ganjam, on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a 38-year-old man for the murder of a 31-year-old at Gosaninuagaon about 12 years ago.

Bhagyalaxmi Rath, district and sessions court judge, sentenced Satisha Kumar Mishra, alias Maouza Mishra, for his involvement in the killing of Shanti Mishra, a history-sheeter, at Gosaninuagaon on Jan 29, 2013. The court had earlier, on Nov 7 last year, pronounced life sentences in the same case. However, Mishra had been absconding during the hearings and was absent on the day of the judgment. A non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against him. Acting on a tip-off, police arrested him from his hideout in Jatani on April 14.

Police said Mishra was first arrested in a 2006 murder case near the railway station but jumped bail. He was later arrested in a rioting case the same year. He was again involved in the 2013 murder of Shanti Mishra and was granted bail in 2016, after which he failed to appear in court, prompting the NBW.

With Mishra's conviction, 12 of the 13 accused in the murder case have now been sentenced to life imprisonment, sources said. Another accused, Madhab Panigrahy (42), was arrested on May 16 in Bhubaneswar, 12 years after the incident. His trial is yet to be conducted.