Former MP Bhaskar Rao surrenders in 2010 murder case

Former Rajya Sabha member N. Bhaskar Rao surrendered at the Rayagada Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Court on November 9 in connection with the 2010 murder of tribal leader Bhagirathi Mandangi, following a Supreme Court order requiring the accused to surrender. Rao was sent to judicial custody, while reports differed on how many co-accused appeared in court and whether his bail plea was rejected that day.

The Supreme Court on October 26 set aside the Odisha High Court’s January 22, 2026, anticipatory-bail order and directed Rao and the other accused to surrender within two weeks. It allowed them to apply for regular bail before the lower court. The ruling followed a petition by Mandangi’s brother, Jagannath Mandangi, challenging the High Court’s decision.

Two reports said Rao and five others surrendered and that their bail pleas were rejected, with a judicial official saying the group was remanded to custody for 14 days. Another report said four accused, including Rao, surrendered; it identified K. Adinarayana as not having appeared and said a sixth accused, Yella Venkateswar Rao, also known as Kondababu, had died. The reports do not establish a common account of the number...