The sketch of one of the suspected assailants

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack Oct. 10: The crime branch of police today released the sketch of one of the three suspects in the murder of Umerkote MLA Jagabandhu Majhi.

Majhi, who belonged to the ruling Biju Janata Dal, was gunned down by three motorcycle-borne assailants while distributing land title documents at Gonahatpadar village in Nowrangpur district on September 24.

Majhi’s personal security officer was also killed in the incident, which was allegedly masterminded by Maoists. Gonahatpadar is part of Umerkote constituency and lies close to Chhattisgarh border.

“We have released the sketch of the suspect involved in the killings of the MLA and his personal security guard. Efforts are on to nab the culprits,” said additional director general of police (crime branch) Abhaya.

The assailants of the MLA are believed to have escaped to Chhattisgarh following the incident which created ripples in the state’s political circles. It is believed to be the first murder of a sitting MLA by the Maoists. The rebels, however, have refrained from claiming responsibility for the killing.

A bachelor, Majhi was high on the hit list of the Maoists who had targeted him twice in the past. In the first attack that took place on March 14, 2004, he had sustained serious injuries to his spinal chord and was confined to a wheel chair. In 2010, he had a narrow escape when bombs were hurled at his car.

Sources said Majhi was being stalked by the Maoists as his growing popularity in the constituency had become a threat to their existence in the area. The MLA, who went out of his way to help people, had been campaigning against the radicals fearlessly. However, the Gonahatpadar incident took the police and the administration by complete surprise as no one expected the radicals to launch an attack on the lawmaker in the presence of hundreds of people.

Surprisingly, though around 400 people were present at the spot, none of them made any attempt to chase the assailants.

Local police officials said that the impact of the killing was so numbing that the villagers failed to react immediately. This helped the assailants make good their escape. Majhi was not the first political leader of the state to have been targeted by the Maoists.