Rayagada (Odisha), November 9: Four accused, including former Rajya Sabha MP N. Bhaskar Rao, surrendered on Monday before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Rayagada in the murder case of tribal leader Bhagirathi Mandangi, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via Hi India

The four who surrendered are N. Bhaskar Rao, K. Krishna Rao, Ippili Sanyasi Raju and P. Dilip Kumar, according to IANS. Four of the five surviving accused surrendered as the deadline ended on Monday, the report said.

Source: IANS via Hi India

Bail plea rejected, Rao sent to sub-jail

Following the surrender, the accused were sent to Rayagada Sub-Jail and placed in judicial custody, IANS reported. Sambad English reported that the SDJM court rejected Rao's bail plea and remanded him to Rayagada Sub-Jail.

Source: Sambad English

Rao's lawyer Naba Kumar Kanta said his client surrendered in compliance with the Supreme Court's directions and was sent to judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via Hi India

How the surrender follows the October 26 Supreme Court order

The surrender is the direct follow-through of an earlier development Awaaz Punjab's readers should note: on October 26, a Supreme Court bench set aside the Orissa High Court's order of January 22, 2026, rejected the earlier bail directions while confirming the rejection of anticipatory bail, and directed the accused to surrender within two weeks, according to IANS.

Source: IANS via Hi India

Bhaskar Rao had earlier approached the Orissa High Court challenging the non-bailable arrest warrant issued in the case by the lower court in 2024, IANS reported. Sambad English reported that the Rayagada SDJM court had issued non-bailable warrants against six persons, including the former MP, in November 2024.

Source: Sambad English

A 2010 case, allegations still to be tried

A case was registered in 2010 over the abduction and murder of Bhagirathi Mandangi, a local tribal leader, IANS reported. Sambad English reported that Mandangi, a member of the Maa Majhighariani Temple Trust, was murdered on December 15, 2010. The charges against Rao and the co-accused are allegations in a pending case; no conviction has been reported.

Source: Sambad English

Separately, IANS reported that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch on November 6 launched simultaneous searches at 11 locations linked to Bhaskar Rao and others in Bhubaneswar and Rayagada district in connection with the investigation of a fraud case. That probe is separate from the murder case in which he surrendered on Monday.

Source: IANS via Hi India