Additional District Judge, Baripada, Ashanta Kumar Das awarded life imprisonment and penalty of Rs 2,000 each to Surendra Naiak (42), Bhima Singh (20), Dukhiba Sangram Mohapatra and Antaryami Patra on charge of murder and acquitted one Santosh Patra.
The five persons on the night of February 9 had killed 68-year-old senior advocate Kalicharan Pradhan and left his wife Basanti Pradhan severely injured during a dacoity. They too looted valuables from Pradhan's house after killing him, police said.
The incident sparked tension in the district headquarters town here as the advocates launched a two-month cease work agitation demanding arrest of culprits involved in the murder case. The case was later handed over to the Crime Branch of Police which nabbed five persons in this connection.