Ex-MP Bhaskar Rao surrenders after Supreme Court rejects bail in Odisha tribal leader murder case

Bhubaneswar Former Rajya Sabha MP Nekkenti Bhaskar Rao and five others surrendered before a Court in Odisha’s Rayagada district on Monday (November 9, 2026) in connection with the murder of prominent tribal leader Bhagirathi Mandangi in 2010, following a Supreme Court directive. Mr. Rao, who resigned from the Opposition BJD on September 25 and floated a political platform in Rayagada, surrendered before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) Court in compliance with the apex court’s order.

SDJM court judge Jotirmayee Sarangi rejected the bail pleas of Mr. Rao and the five others and remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days, a judicial official said. The Supreme Court on October 26 cancelled the bail earlier granted to Mr.

Rao and the other accused in the case and directed them to surrender within two weeks. It set aside the Odisha High Court’s anticipatory bail order issued on January 22. The apex court, however, allowed them to file fresh applications for regular bail before the lower court.