Bhubaneswar, July 1 -- Police dropped direct murder charges against former MLA Bikram Panda and 13 other accused individuals in the final chargesheet in the high-profile Pitabas Panda murder case. The development was reported on Wednesday.

However, the police explicitly identified the former legislator as the principal conspirator in the case, altering the legal framework under which the accused will be prosecuted.

Instead of facing direct murder charges, Bikram Panda has now been booked under Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),reportedly. This pertains to criminal conspiracy as part of an organised crime. Apart from the former MLA, the direct murder charge was also dropped against former Mayor Pintu, alias Shibashankar Da...