Rayagada: Congress leader Purussottam Gamang died in a road accident hours after the Rayagada district judge court declared his election as the chairman of Zilla Parishad null and void on Tuesday.
According to sources, the accident took place on Ramanaguda-Gunupur road while he was returning from the court around 8 pm. He sustained serious injuries after the motorcycle he was riding hit a roadside tree.
He was rescued by locals in a critical condition and immediately taken to a hospital in Srikakulam, where the doctors declared him dead.
Gamang was elected chairman in the ZP election on March 12, 2017. Gangadhar Puala, the BJD contender for the post, challenged his election in the district court, which annulled it in December 2018. The Congress leader then moved the Orissa Hight Court against the ruling. In September this year, the High Court directed Gamang to present his side in the the Rayagada District and Sessions, where Judge Soma Sekhar Jena again nullified the election.
