7 convicted of Laxmanananda murder,sentencing on Oct 3

Three of Laxmananandas associates,Kishore Baba (45),Amritananda Baba (62) and Mata Bhaktimayee (40) and Puranjan Ganthi (28),brother of one of girls of the tribal residential school,were also shot.

Additional district judge of Kandhamal,Rajendra Kumar Tosh announced the 7 guilty and reserved the order for quantum of punishment for October 3.

The seven convicted are Gananath Chalanseth,Bijaya Kumar Sanseth,Buddha Nayak,Sanatan Badamajhi,Duryadhan Sunamajhi,Bhaskar Sunamajhi and Munda Badamajhi.

On Tuesday,the court would pronounce its verdict on two others,Uday alias Pulari Rama Rao and Jadu alias Somnath Dandasena.

Additional public prosecutor Kandhamal,Bijay Patnaik,said all the 7 convicted were found guilty.

During trial,the convicts told court the blueprint for Laxmananandas murder was allegedly prepared by Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda.

Panda,expelled by CPI (Maoists) last year,has not been arrested. Five others are yet to be tried in the case. Another accused,Azad alias Duna Keshava Rao,is being tried by the same court.

The murder seems to have led to a crack in the Maoist set-up with central committee leaders suspending Panda over the riots. It finally led to his expulsion with Maoists accusing him of betraying the party and the revolution.

The 2008 Kandhamal riots had resulted in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dropping BJP as BJDs electoral ally in the 2009 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.