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BJP leader Pitabash Panda was shot dead by miscreants in Berhampur in Odisha's Ganjam district, Superintendent of Police (SP) Berhampur, Saravana Vivek M said.
According to the police, the BJP leader was shot at around 10 pm on Monday. SP Saravana Vivek M added that three teams have been constituted to carry out the investigation. Pitabash Panda's last rites were held today morning. Further details in the case are awaited. Meanwhile, BJD leader Bhrugu Baxipatra condemned the murder and flagged the law and order situation in the State. Speaking to ANI, Baxipatra said, "It is very unfortunate as to what happened yesterday in Berhampur in the Ganjam District. A very senior leader of the ruling party of the district, who is also a very prominent lawyer, a member of the bar council, was shot dead last night...The Biju Janata Dal has been continuously trying to say that the law and order situation in the state, since the BJP came to power, has completely destabilised." "Yesterday's incident now proves that leaders of the ruling party are also not safe...We also feel that this state government is unable to handle the situation...I will not be surprised if the investigation leads to multiple people being involved in this. This was never the law and order situation in the district...I completely condemn this," he added. Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das also slammed the Mohan Charan Majhi-led government in the State, alleging "jungle raj" in the State. Sharing a media report on X, the Congress leader said that the BJP's failure to protect its own leader exposes the law and order situation in the State. "Deeply shocked at the assassination of Senior Lawyer and State Bar Council Member Shri Pitabash Panda outside his home in Berhampur. BJP has successfully established Jungle Raaj in Odisha. CM Mohan Majhi's Govt has failed to protect even its own leader, which exposes the shocking law & order collapse in the state," he wrote. Amid clashes in Cuttack, Bhakta Charan Das added, "Whether communal clashes, atrocities on women or such murders, things are going from bad to worse. Pained to see what's happening in our peaceful state." (ANI)
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