PARLAKHEMUNDI : Maoist leader Azad walked out of jail after a special court on Tuesday acquitted him in the 2008 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others on the ground that the prosecution had failed to establish his involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court), Paralakhemundi, Satyanarayan Patra pronounced the verdict and directed that Azad, alias Duna Kesava Rao, be released immediately if his custody was not required in any other case.
Azad was acquitted of charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Following the verdict, he was released from Special Jail, Jharpada, in Bhubaneswar, as trials in all cases against him came to a close.
Laxmanananda and four others were killed when around 15-25 armed assailants, many of them wearing masks or monkey caps, stormed the Jalespata Ashram on the night of August 23, 2008.
The prosecution case against Azad rested largely on the identification made by a single witness. The court observed that it would be unsafe to convict him solely on the testimony of a single witness, particularly when the assailants had allegedly covered their faces.
A letter bearing Azad’s name was also recovered from the crime scene. However, the prosecution failed to establish its connection with him. It did not produce a handwriting expert’s report to prove that the handwriting or signature on the letter was that of Azad.
Similarly, the court observed that the weapons seized during the investigation had not been recovered from Azad and no scientific or forensic evidence linking him to the seized arms had been presented.
The court also found no reliable evidence of meetings, communications or other links suggesting a conspiracy between Azad and the other accused. Two prosecution witnesses also did not support the allegation of his involvement.
The court observed that the attack and killing of the five persons had been established, but Azad’s involvement had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The cases against Azad were heard by a special court constituted at Paralakhemundi following a Supreme Court directive to ensure their speedy disposal. He faced 49 cases in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, including 37 in Odisha - 36 in Paralakhemundi alone and one in Rayagada - and 12 in Andhra Pradesh.
A close associate of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, Azad was accused in multiple cases, including the blowing up of the Paniganda beat house under Adava police limits, exchanges of fire with police, attacks on contractors’ camps and the burning of government buses.
He was arrested in 2011 in connection with the 2008 Nayagarh district armoury attack case and was subsequently lodged in Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar. Azad had spent nearly 15 years in jail.
