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Bikram Panda, former Berhampur MLA and Biju Janata Dal’s Ganjam district president, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the murder of BJP leader and lawyer Pitabash Panda, police confirmed. The arrest triggered protests by his supporters.
Pitabash Panda, a member of the Odisha Bar Council, was fatally shot by two assailants on motorcycles near his residence in Berhampur on October 6. His killing has ignited widespread outrage over the state’s law-and-order conditions.