Sarua Land Case: Orissa HC Concludes Hearing, Reserves Judgment

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Friday concluded the hearing the petition on Sarua land scam and reserved its judgment.

The Odisha Infratech Pvt. Ltd (OIPL) and others had challenged the case filed against them by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch in the court. Manoranjan Sarangi, one of the petitioners, told the court that he doesn’t wish to continue as a petitioner as he has resigned from the OIPL.

The high court also extended the interim protection from arrest granted by it to BJP’s vice-president Baijayant Panda and his wife and OTV’s MD Jagi Mangat Panda, who are promoters of the company, till pronouncement of the judgment.

The state government had ordered a Crime Branch probe after it was alleged that the company had purchased land at Sarua in Khurda district belonging to Scheduled Caste people between June, 2010 and June, 2013.