MLA shot dead, Naxals suspected
Unidentified attackers on Saturday gunned down ruling BJD MLA from Umerkote Jagabandhu Majhi, his personal security officer, Pinku Patro, and a civilian at Guna Hatapada, under Raighar block in Orissa’s Nowrangpur district, nearly 700 km from here.
According to Nowrangpur Lok Sabha member Pradip Majhi, at around 12.30 pm, three motorcycle-borne assail-ants came to Guna Hatapada, where Majhi was distributing land pattas to local people. Two of the assailants got off the motorcycle and headed to the meeting place while the third waited at a distance for them to return
Before the PSO could react, they shot him dead from point blank range and then opened fire at the MLA. Despite being injured, the MLA’s driver and a few other local people rushed Majhi and the PSO to Raighar hospital. The doctors declared both of them brought dead.
The 39-year-old Majhi’s assassination is the first such high-profile killing in the state. The police is yet to find a motive for the crime and the people involved. “We are yet to establish if it is handiwork of the Maoists or some other people,” said Umerkote sub-divisional police officer Ashok Sahu. He added that since the area is very close to the Maoist-infested parts of Chhattisgarh, the possibility of the rebels being involved could not be ruled out.
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