Paralakhemundi: A court in Gajapati district has sentenced 12 persons to life imprisonment after convicting them in a 2021 double murder case registered under Adaba police limits.

Additional District Judge Har Prasad Patnaik of the Paralakhemundi court pronounced the sentence after considering the statements of 23 witnesses and 27 pieces of evidence presented during the trial. Public Prosecutor Rajesh Kumar Mishra informed about the judgment.

According to the case details, the incident took place on June 12, 2021, at Muthaguda village. Luka Dalabehera and his son, Anuka Dalabehera, were allegedly attacked by a group of people on suspicion of practising witchcraft.

The two were allegedly subjected to a physical assault and later forcibly made to consume poison, resulting in their deaths.

On June 13, 2021, Ludhia Dalabehera, daughter of one of the deceased, lodged an FIR at Adaba police station in connection with the incident.

The case was investigated by then Inspector-in-Charge Anand Chandra Patra. During the investigation, statements of 23 witnesses were recorded and 27 pieces of evidence were collected and presented before the court.

After examining the evidence and witness testimonies, the court convicted all the 12 accused and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment.

The verdict was delivered more than five years after the alleged double murder.