Berhampur: Police on Tuesday quizzed Bikram Panda, BJD leader and former MLA (Berhampur), for around four hours in connection with threatening a witness in the murder of senior advocate Pitabash Panda from the mobile phone of the jail doctor at the circle jail here.Goshaninuagaon police station lodged a case in this regard on Sept 15 against Panda, one of his associates and the jail doctor on an allegation by Laalit Mangaraj. Bikram, who was lodged in the jail in the murder case for about 10 months, was released on bail on Sept 1. “Police have questioned me based on the allegation of a person. I told truth on all questions,” said Bikram after interrogation. As a part of the investigation of the case, he was interrogated, said police.Earlier, police had questioned the jail doctor, Susant Kumar Panigrahi, in this case. Govt also suspended Panigrahi on Sept 20 for his alleged role in facilitating a phone to a murder accused from the jail.Bikram and his associate Madan Dalai, who is also in the jail in the Pitabash murder case, allegedly threatened Mangaraj on Aug 28 from the mobile phone of the jail doctor. After verifying the CCTVs installed in the doctor’s chamber in the jail and collecting technical evidence, police have registered a case against the trio, including the former MLA, said police.Bikram was arrested on Nov 6, 2025, along with 15 others, including former mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) Shiva Shankar Das, a BJD corporator, Malaya Bisoi, and Dalai, for their alleged involvement in the murder of Pitabash, an active member of 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. Bikram and Das had been arrested for hatching a conspiracy for the murder of Pitabash.
