Indrajit Ray resigned as the advocate general of Orissa thanks to the tremendous hue and cry raised all over the country in 1998 following his alleged attempt to rape Anjana Mishra.

An efficient lawyer well-known in political circles, he had become very close to former Orissa chief minister J B Patnaik. Ray's developed his relation with Patnaik during the latter's second innings at the helm, from 1985 to 1989. Then, Patnaik was embroiled in a sex scandal.

"As a lawyer, Ray helped Patnaik when he was in trouble," a close associate of Ray says.

It is said that Ray always came to Patnaik's rescue whenever the chief minister was in legal trouble. It was Ray's legal wisdom that saw him through the many wrangles he was entangled in while in office. Even in cases concerning other prominent Congress leaders, Ray provided legal support.

Thus, when Patnaik bounced back to power for the third time in 1995, it was only natural that Ray was appointed the state advocate general.

Anjana Mishra's allegation of Ray trying to rape her was his undoing. It cost him his job and also earned him notoriety all over the country. Last year when three men raped Mishra in Bhubaneswar, Ray was in more trouble than ever.

Mishra claimed the man behind the atrocity was Ray. In her FIR, she said that two of her molesters kept mentioning Patnaik and Ray.

The charge proved costly for Patnaik, who was called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Ultimately, it lost him his job.