The Orissa High Court has upheld the life term sentenced by a lower court to Surendra Das alias Belu, the kingpin of 1992 Cuttack hooch tragedy, and four others in connection with the murder of a police informer.
A division bench comprising justices B P Das and M M Das on Saturday upheld the lower court's order observing that there is no infirmity or illegality in them.
Belu and his accomplices, including one of his brothers, were convicted by a local fast track court in 2005 of murder and criminal conspiracy in the case and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The convicts subsequently had moved the Orissa High Court challenging the lower court's order.
Belu, his brother Ramachandra and three accomplices were convicted under Section 302 and 120(B) of IPC for killing Patnaik. The police informer was found dead lying in a pool of blood near a hotel in Kesharpur area here on April 26, 2001.
The lower court found Belu and his brother, who were then lodged in Choudwar circle jail for their involvement in the hooch tragedy, to have masterminded the murder with the help of their accomplices.