Odisha News

Elephants in the sanctuary Bhubaneswar: With Maoist presence now nil in Nuapada district, Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary authorities said they are exploring the possibility of night-stay cottages outside the sanctuary boundary like any other sanctuaries to attract tourists.For development of tourism, Sunabeda officials on Friday visited Similipal Tiger Reserve for exposure and to learn about the…

Cuttack: Underscoring procedural safeguards in arrests, Orissa high court has ruled that informing the accused of the grounds of arrest is “not empty formality” but a mandatory legal and constitutional requirement.The significant ruling came on Thursday while granting bail to five people accused in a cyber crime case after finding serious lapses in the arrest…

Koraput: A 25-year-old man was arrested on Friday evening for the murder of an elderly man at Kumuliput village under Jeypore Sadar police station limits in Koraput district. The accused was identified as Tuna Paraja alias Cigret Jani of Kumuliput.Raghunath Gouda, aged around 65, was found dead on April 27 inside a roadside nala, with…

Rourkela: Police arrested a 70-year-old man here on Friday night for allegedly raping two minor girls in the city.According to police, the accused, a neighbour of the victims, allegedly lured the girls — aged six and seven — to his house on Thursday afternoon on the pretext of offering them cold drinks. He was alone…

Leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik Bhubaneswar: Leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik on Saturday wrote to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking accountability for what he termed a “shocking lapse” after a tribal man was allegedly forced to bring his sister’s skeletal remains to a bank to prove her death and access her deposits. BJP countered…

Revenue minister Suresh Pujari Bhubaneswar: The state govt will recommend strict action against the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)-sponsored Odisha Grameen Bank officials over alleged lapses that recently forced a tribal man to carry his sister’s skeletal remains to the Mallipasi branch in Keonjhar to prove her death, revenue minister Suresh Pujari said on Saturday, adding…

Keonjhar: A forest squad on Wednesday night caught a hunter, who was suspiciously roaming inside the Hadgarh sanctuary under Anandpur wildlife division. The accused was identified as Sama Ho (40) of Jadabanka village. According to the squad led by Marshal Kisku, range officer Hadagada range, they saw Sama wandering inside the sanctuary near Mashakhia around…

Keonjhar: BJP Adivasi Morcha’s Keonjhar district general secretary Maturam Munda stepped down in the wake of the Jitu Munda incident. In his resignation letter, Maturam said he felt “ashamed and shocked” that a bereaved family was allegedly forced to produce skeletal remains to access money deposited in a bank account. He said he had sent…

Koraput: Three officials of Dabugaon police station have been suspended on charges of dereliction of duty in connection with the custodial death of a 23-year-old accused on the police station premises.The suspended officials are sub-inspector Bikram Sahu of Dabugaon police station and OAPF personnel Karn Pujari and Budhiram Majhi, police sources said.“Prima facie evidence was…

Balasore: A retired assistant horticulture officer was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment by the special vigilance court in Balasore on Thursday after being convicted in a corruption case involving misappropriation of govt funds under the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) scheme. A fine of Rs 50,000 was also imposed on him. On default in…