On the evening of Janmashtami festival in 2008, Jalespata Ashram was attacked by over a dozen armed Christian converts and Maoists. They had brutally murdered Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his associates.
Recently, OTV MD Jagi Mangat Panda's father had appealed to HM Amit Shah seeking protection from the excesses of Odisha police against his family and employees of OTV.