Kendrapada: The additional district and sessions court, Jagatsinghpur, on Wednesday sentenced two persons to life imprisonment for the murder of a 32-year-old man of Kulakaijanga village under Biridi police station, 27 years back.The court also imposed fines of Rs 5,000 each and failure to pay would result in their sentences being increased by six months. The convicts, Basudev Behera (60) and Gouranga Mohanty (62), for killing Birabara Behera, a medicine shop owner with sword and other sharp weapons on Jan 13, 1999 at Biridi Haat when he was returning to his village after closing his shop. Past enmity is the main reason behind the murder.Acting on the complaint of Pratima Behera, the wife of the deceased, police arrested the duo. After relying on the evidence of the 10 witnesses, including police officers and medical reports, the court sentenced them to life imprisonment, said Dilip Pradhan, the public prosecutor.
