Bhubaneswar: A court in Odisha’s Keonjhar district today sentenced five persons to capital punishment after convicting them in the sensational murder of former Anandpur block chairman Ram Chandra Behera five years ago.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge at Anandpur in Keonjhar sentenced convicts Sanjay Prusti, Ajit Prusti, Arun Prusti, Alekha Prusti and Dola Boitei to capital punishment in connection with the high-profile murder.

The court convicted them after examining 53 witnesses and the evidence gathered by the police during investigation.

Another accused Pramod Das, who was a minor when he committed the crime, has been lodged in juvenile custody.

The miscreants had brutally hacked Behera with sharp weapons near his home at Dhakotha village under Ghasipura Assembly segment on March 25, 2019.

Behera, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Assembly polls from Ghasipura, died while being rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

The police had arrested five persons in connection with the incident. They claimed that Behera was murdered over previous enmity.