Berhampur: Police have registered a fresh case against BJD’s former MLA (Berhampur) Bikram Kumar Panda, who was recently released from jail, for allegedly threatening a witness on the phone from the prison while he was in circle jail here in connection with the murder of senior advocate Pitabash Panda.Bikram was released from jail on Sept 1 after spending over 10 months in prison as high court granted him bail.“We have registered a case against Panda, his close aide Madan Mohan Dalai and the jail doctor at Gosaninuagaon police station on Tuesday after one of the witnesses, Lalit Mangaraj, lodged a complaint against them,” said Berhampur superintendent of police (SP) Saravana Vivek M on Wednesday.Bikram and Madan allegedly threatened him on Aug 28, calling from the mobile phone of the jail doctor from his chamber inside the jail, he said. “After verifying the CCTV cameras installed in the doctor’s chamber and collecting technical evidence, we have registered a fresh case against the trio, including the former MLA,” said the SP.He added they would write to the administration against the jail doctor for facilitating an accused to talk with a witness.Bikram was arrested on Nov 6, 2025, along with 15 others, including former Berhampur mayor Shiva Shankar Das, BJD corporator Malaya Bisoi and Madan, for their alleged involvement in the murder of senior advocate Pitabash, also an active member of the BJP. Two bike-borne miscreants had shot Pitabash at close range near his home at Baikuntha Nagar under Baidyanathpur police station limits on Oct 6, 2025. He was rushed to the medical college and hospital here by the local people, where the doctors declared him dead.
