Name Sabyasachi Panda | ||
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Sabyasachi Panda, Odisha's most wanted Naxal leader, arrested
Sabyasachi Panda is a self-described "Naxalite-Maoist leader" from India. He was wanted by the state police of several states in India for his involvement in criminal activities. He came into international news in 2012, for his alleged engineering of the kidnapping of two Italians nationals.
Contents
- Sabyasachi Panda Odishas most wanted Naxal leader arrested
- Early life and education
- Murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and his followers
- Other crimes
- Capture
- References
Panda was captured on 18 July 2014 by Indian security forces in Ganjam District, Odisha.
He is also alleged to have involved and wanted in more than 50 criminal cases, including
Early life and education
Panda is a son of a freedom fighter and three-time CPI(M) MLA from Ranpur, Mr. Ramesh Panda. He is a graduate in mathematics from Puri’s Samant Chandra Shekhar government college. He is married to Subhashree or Mili Panda from Nimapara.
Murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and his followers
Panda has been implicated in the 2008 murder of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers in Kandhamal district. The eighty-four year old monk had dedicated his life to the preservation of the ancient religious and cultural traditions of the Khond vanavasis and they revered him. The murder of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, combined with the well-financed, foreign-based Christian evangelical efforts of the Panna Christian community, would trigger communal violence between the two groups. He was expelled by the CPI(Maoist) and then he floated a new party called the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist-Maoist).
Other crimes
He was also wanted in the abduction case of two Italian tourists, who were released later in March 2012.
Capture
On July 18, 2014 Odisha Police raided a Maoist hideout in Ganjam district on the basis of intelligence inputs and captured Panda in Berhampur, where he been hiding.
The arrest was successfully carried out by the Odisha Police.
The forty-five year old carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head.