A special sessions court in Odisha’s Gajapati district has acquitted top Maoist leader Duna Kesaba Rao, alias Azad, in the high-profile 2008 murder of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four disciples. Additional Sessions Judge Satyanarayan Patra at the Paralakhemundi special court cleared the 45-year-old of all charges—including murder, criminal conspiracy, and arms offences—citing a complete lack of credible ocular or scientific evidence and ruling that suspicion cannot substitute for legal proof.
The case dates back to the evening of August 23, 2008, when armed assailants stormed the Jalespata Kanyashram residential school in Kandhamal district during Janmashtami celebrations, killing the 84-year-old seer and four associates. The assassination triggered widespread communal violence across Kandhamal, claiming at least 38 lives and displacing more than 54,000 people. Police subsequently accused the outlawed CPI (Maoist) Bansadhara Division of orchestrating the hit, naming Azad among the key planners.
During the trial, however, the prosecution’s case unravelled under judicial scrutiny. Out of 22 witnesses examined, only one ashram inmate attempted to identify Azad via videoconferencing. The judge rejected this testimony as unreliable, noting that the witness’s initial statement to the police contradicted his court testimony, having originally recorded that all attackers had their faces covered. Other witnesses, including resident students and police guards, consistently testified that the armed assailants wore monkey caps and masks, making visual identification impossible.
The court also dismissed a purported Maoist letter left at the scene that claimed responsibility under Azad's name. Investigators failed to produce the original document in court and submitted no forensic handwriting or linguistic analysis to connect it to the accused. Furthermore, police recovered no weapons, spent cartridges, or matching ballistic evidence linking Azad to the killings.
While eight individuals, including Maoist commander Pulari Rama Rao alias Uday, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Phulbani court in 2013, Azad’s trial was bifurcated and delayed. Having spent 15 years in judicial custody following his 2010 arrest, Azad's acquittal closes a major chapter in one of Odisha's most sensitive legal battles.
