Unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants gunned down BJP leader Pitabash Panda in, Berhampur city of Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said.

Panda, also a practicing lawyer and a member of the Odisha State Bar Council, was fired at point blank range near his house in Brahma Nagar by two bike-borne assailants late night on Monday.

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One of the fired bullets pierced through his chest, which proved fatal.

Panda was received dead at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in the city. It could be conclusively stated that it was a pre-planned murder. Though the motive behind the murder is yet to be ascertained, a possible professional or political rivalry angle of the crime is being looked into, police said.

A special squad has been constituted to crack the case at the earliest, polic

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