BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan gets jail term for murder, again

Bhubaneswar : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Manoj Pradhan was on Thursday handed down jail term by a fast-track court for a murder during 2008 communal riots in Orissa?s Kandhamal district.

Fast track court-II judge C.R. Das convicted Pradhan for the murder of Bikram Nayak on August 26, 2008, and sentenced him to six years of rigorous imprisonment.

Pradhan was also slapped with a fine of Rs 15,500 for torching houses and inciting communal violence.

The BJP MLA, who represents G Udayagiri constituency, has several other cases pending against him.

He was earlier convicted and sentenced to seven years jail in another murder case during the same riots.

Riots had erupted in Kandhamal district of Orissa in 2008 after the murder of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The government had set up two fast-track courts for trial in the riots case.