Bhubaneswar: A court in Odisha Thursday sentenced eight persons, as well as a Maoist, to life in jail for the murder of a Hindu leader and 4 of his aides in 2008, a professional person same.

OnPhulbani put the special extra district sessions of court , the headquarters of Kandhamal district, concerning two hundred kilometer from capital Bhubaneswar, conjointly obligatory a fine of Rs.10,000 on every of them, prosecution professional person Ramesh Mohanty told IANS.

Those awarded the jail term and fine ar Duryodhan Suna Majhi, Munda-Mon-Khmer Bada Majhi, Sanatan Bada Majhi, Garnatha Chalanseth, Bijay Kumar Samseth, Bhaskar Suna Majhi and Budhadev Nayak and Pulari Rama Rao alias Uday.

Rama Rao alias Uday was a Maoist leader whereas others ar native residents, the prosecution professional person same. a similar court pronounced Rama Rao guilty on October one whereas it condemned others on a daily basis earlier. The court same it might pronounce the quantum of penalty on thursday.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Hindu Laxmanananda Saraswati and his four aides were killed at their ashram by then unidentified gunmen at Jaleshpata in Kandhamal district Aug twenty three, 2008.

Five defendant, as well as Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, wished for the crime, ar still untraced and on the run, police same.

The convicts same they committed the crime as, consistent with them, Saraswati was forcing Christians to convert to Hinduism, he said.

The killing of Saraswati and his aides triggered communal violence within the state, during which a minimum of thirty eight folks were killed.