BERHAMPUR: The court of Additional District Judge (ADJ) at Aska in Ganjam district acquitted 16 people accused of killing BJD leader Pratap Pallai over lack of evidence.
Pallai was a resident of Pakelapalli village within Aska police limits and was murdered when he was en route to Berhampur on a bus on November 6, 2017. Sources said a few miscreants stopped the bus at Karanjei Square on Aska-Berhampur road and shot Pallai from a close range killing him on the spot.
Pallai’s wife, Babita, a former councillor of Aska NAC filed a complaint following the murder at Aska police station. During the investigation, police filed a chargesheet in the JMFC court. Later, the trial was shifted to the additional district and sessions court where the statements of 22 witnesses including that of the complainant were examined along with documentary evidence.
ADJ Prabir Kumar Choudhury, in his judgment on Saturday acquitted all 16 accused over lack of evidence. Pallai’s murder had resulted in the transfer of the then Aska IIC Baleswar Gidhi.