Cuttack, Dec 1 (IANS) The Orissa High Court Tuesday granted conditional bail to a journalist who was arrested by state police in September for indulging in anti- government activities, a lawyer said.
Laxman Choudhury, a reporter with Oriya daily Sambad, was arrested Sep 21 from Mohana area in Gajapati district after a packet containing Maoist leaflets addressed to him was recovered from a bus conductor.

“The high court today (Tuesday) ordered for his release on conditional bail,” lawyer Jagannath Patnaik told IANS.

Police initially accused Choudhury and the bus conductor of waging war against the government, sedition, criminal conspiracy and assisting Maoist activities.

Although police later dropped the charge of sedition against him, the arrest had attracted wide criticism from various quarters including the media.

Scribes of the state had alleged that the police had acted against Choudhury because he had published a news story that the police were hand-in-glove with drug traders who were paying huge amounts as bribes.