Bhaskar Rao surrenders at Rayagada after Supreme Court cancels bail in tribal leader murder case

Bhaskar Rao surrenders before a court in Rayagada, Odisha, on Monday 9 November 2026 after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail in the 2010 murder of tribal leader Bhagirathi Mandangi, ThePrint reported. A judge rejected his bail plea, and the former Rajya Sabha MP was sent to judicial custody for 14 days along with five others who surrendered with him.

What the Supreme Court ordered before Bhaskar Rao surrenders

On 26 October, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva set aside part of the Odisha High Court’s order of 22 January and the Rayagada court’s bail order of 30 January, Kalinga TV reported. The accused were told to surrender within two weeks. They may file fresh regular bail applications, which the trial court must decide on merit. According to Kalinga TV, the bench said “Regular bail applications must be decided independently by the competent court.” ThePrint describes the High Court order as an anticipatory bail order, while Kalinga TV says it rejected anticipatory bail but pointed to regular bail, so we have not tried to settle that detail.

Key numbers

• 14 days: the judicial custody ordered after the SDJM court in Rayagada rejected bail.
• 6: the accused who surrendered on Monday, including Rao.
• 7: the accused in the case, one of whom has since died.
• 2 weeks: the time the Supreme Court gave the accused to surrender.
• 15 December 2010: the day Mandangi went missing.

The Bhagirathi Mandangi murder case

Mandangi was a prominent tribal leader and a trustee of the Maa Majhighariani Temple in Rayagada. He went missing on 15 December 2010, and his partly burnt body was later found near the Thotapalli reservoir in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, with his hands and legs tied. His family and tribal groups alleged he was killed after questioning irregularities in the temple’s management. The Odisha Crime Branch took over the probe. The charges include murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. On 12 November 2024, the Rayagada SDJM court issued non-bailable warrants against six people, including Rao.

Separate action against the former MP

Rao resigned from the BJD on 25 September and floated a political platform in Rayagada, ThePrint said. On 6 November, the Economic Offences Wing raided his office, residence and other properties in Rayagada and Bhubaneswar. The agency alleges that he and truck association office-bearers collected crores of rupees and that he funded Naxalite activity in southern Odisha. These are the agency’s allegations as reported, and the reports do not carry Rao’s response.

What happens next

Rao and the others can now apply afresh for regular bail before the trial court, which will decide each plea on its own facts. The reports do not give a hearing date. For more on the top court, see the Supreme Court of India page, our report on its ruling that a public servant held in custody is deemed suspended, and our India coverage.