Paradip, Aug. 1: A fast track court in Jagatsinghpur convicted four persons and awarded them life imprisonment for murdering a Congress worker at Laxmi Bazar, a busy marketplace in Kujang block headquarters town near Paradip, on April 19, 2006.

After the cross-examination of the eyewitnesses and taking into account the circumstantial evidence, Jagatsinghpur fast track court judge Madhumita Das yesterday held Santosh Parida, Prafulla Parida, Muktiranjan Parida and Birendra Roul, all BJD workers, guilty of murdering Manoj Parida.

The convicts were pronounced guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

The court also ordered realisation of Rs 25,000 as penalty from each of the convicts. Failing to do so, the convicts would have to undergo one more prison term, the court ruled.

Santosh, one of the convicts, happened to be the spouse of sitting chairperson of the Kujang Panchayat Samity.

On the fateful day, the assailants had intercepted Parida at Laxmi Bazar when the victim was distributing invitation cards of his marriage. The assailants shot at him from close range.

Later, they poured kerosene and burnt him alive. Police had arrived at the spot after the crime was over. Though many had witnessed the incident, but none mustered the courage to intervene as the killers were well armed.

However, later, many of them turned up before the court as eyewitnesses.

The cold-blooded murder of Manoj, committed for political rivalry, had triggered public outrage and the police were accused of being biased in the investigation of the case.

The court had recorded statements of 140 eyewitnesses. Of the eight persons, who faced trial in the murder case, a couple of accused were acquitted of charges.

Two others, who had got bail earlier, died in a road accident.