Anjana Mishra Rapist Padia Dies Of Illness

Bhubaneswar: Pradip Sahu alias Padia, a convict in the 1999 Anjana Mishra gang-rape case, died while undergoing treatment at Capital Hospital here on Monday.

He was serving life term at Jharpada Special Jail since 2002 and was admitted to the hospital on February 21, media reports said, adding that he was suffering from serious illness,

The case had created a furore in Odisha with Anjana accusing former state Advocate General Indrajit Ray of molesting her and then orchestrating the gang rape.

CASE HISTORY

Anjana, the estranged wife of an Indian Forest Service officer, was waylaid by three persons near Baranga, about 15 km from here on the intervening night of January 9-10 of 1999 while she was on her way to Cuttack from Bhubaneswar along with a journalist-friend in a car.

The CBI, which was entrusted by the Orissa High Court to investigate the case, had maintained that the trio had raped her.

Padia was the first to be arrested in the case and Anjana identified him on January 15. In 2002, Khurda District Sessions judge convicted him and Tuna Mohanty in the case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The High Court in 2010 had uphold the verdict.

Another accused Biban Biswal is still at large.