Sabyasachi Panda

Sabyasachi Panda (also known by his alias Babu Panda) is an Indian former Naxalite-Maoist leader and the founder of the Odisha Maowadi Party (OMP) and former Politician for the Ranpur Assembly constituency in the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Mayurjhalia, Ranpur, in Nayagarh district state of Odisha. He was formerly a top commander of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in the state of Odisha. He is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction in 2019 for waging war against the state, although he has been acquitted in several other cases due to lack of evidence. He was wanted by the state police of several states in India for his involvement in criminal activities He came into international news in 2012, for his alleged engineering of the kidnapping of two Italians nationals He is also alleged to have involved and wanted in more than 50 criminal cases, including the murder of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati and four of his aides in Kandhamal district in 2008 that had triggered communal violence in the region He was expelled by the CPI(Maoist) and then he floated a new party called the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist-Maoist) He was also wanted in the abduction case of two Italian tourists, who were released later in March 2012 On 18 July 2014 Odisha Police raided a Maoist hideout in Ganjam district on the basis of intelligence inputs and arrested Sabyasachi Panda from Berhampur 45-year-old Sabyasachi Panda carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head.

Panda was captured on 18 July 2014 by Indian security forces in Ganjam District, Odisha.