The police have finally solved the sensational case of BJP leader and senior advocate Pitabash Panda, who was shot dead near his residence in the Baidyanathpur Police station area in Odisha’s Berhampur, on October 6, with the arrest of 12 people, an official said on Wednesday.
Those arrested include former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislator and the party’s district president, Bikram Kumar Panda and his close associates, informed District Superintendent of Police, Saravana Vivek M., on Wednesday.
Former mayor of Berhampur Municipality, Sivashankar Dash alias Pintu, Malaya Kumar Bisoyi, Madan Mohan Dalai—both of whom are advocates and said to be close associates of BJD leader Bikram—and Kalucharana Bhuyan, Bipin Swain, Chintu Pradhan are among the other persons arrested by the police for their involvement in the assassination of Panda.
The Berhampur police revealed that six teams of the district police were constituted, launching a probe to unravel the conspiracy behind the murder and nab the accused killers.
During the course of investigation, the police ascertained that both former BJD legislator Bikram Panda and his close associate and ex-mayor Pintu Das conspired together to eliminate deceased BJP leader Pitabash Panda due to financial, political, and personal enmities with the victim BJP leader.
The accused Pintu Das had a personal vendetta against Pitabash Panda, who served as the advocate in a case related to the murder of the ex-mayor’s close associate and friend, Shanti Mishra.
Pintu held Panda responsible for the delay in the trial of his friend’s murder case and the eventual release of some of the prime accused persons involved in the murder that took place in 2013.
Meanwhile, the former mayor also held that Pitabash Panda was responsible for instigating murder bids on his life by one such accused, Mouza Mishra, who was out on bail and has since absconded.
Pintu Das has also filed two cases in which the deceased BJP leader was mentioned as one of the accused. Furthermore, Pintu Das believed he was denied the MLA ticket due to the influence exerted by Pitabas Panda.
On the other hand, Pintu Das, who has 38 criminal cases against his name, was in jail for around four years, and upon his release on bail, he was in regular touch with BJD leader Bikram Panda.
Berhampur Advocate Murder Case: 12 persons arrested. Investigation reveals conspiracy with financial & personal motives, prior planning. Police recover guns, clothes. Further probe underway to identify more culprits & connections.#SuccessStories#NewCriminalLaws pic.twitter.com/u8oHH4VHzh
— SP BERHAMPUR (@SP_BERHAMPUR) October 22, 2025
Both the accused, ex-MLA Bikram Panda, and the victim, Pitabash Panda, had been close friends since their college days.
However, a rift developed between them in 2018 when Bikram switched political parties and Pitabash chose not to follow him.
Over time, the former friends turned into bitter rivals and began harming each other socially, financially, and politically, which significantly deepened the enmity between them.
Later, Pintu Das and Bikram Panda hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Pitabash and engaged Malaya Bisoyi and Madan Dalei to execute the murder plan through hired sharpshooters from Bihar.
The accused conspirators agreed to pay Rs 50 lakh for the murder.
However, that plan failed due to personal problems faced by the hired sharpshooters, so they later engaged Kurupatti Bhuyan and Chintu Pradhan of the Banthapalli village in Ganjam district, who ultimately shot Pitabash to death near his house on October 6.
The Berhampur SP also informed media persons that a manhunt is currently underway to arrest three more accused, including Uma Bisoyi and Kurupatti, who are still at large.
