Bhubaneswar, Sept. 25: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik and BJD’s second-in-command Pyari Mohan Mohapatra today flew to Umerkote in Nabarangpur district to attend funeral ceremony of the 39-year-old MLA Jagabandhu Majhi, who was shot dead by suspected Maoists.
Inspector General (crime branch) Abhay, too, rushed to the spot to start a probe into the slain MLA’s killing.
Majhi’s funeral ceremony was held at his village Kushumguda. His nephew lighted the funeral fire. The dead body was taken to cremation ground in a huge procession.
More than 5,000 people of nearby area turned up to attend the ceremony.
Amidst chanting of “Jagabandhu amar rahe. Hum tumare saath hai” (Long live Jagabandhu. We are with you), the funeral ceremony was held with police giving guard of honour to the slain MLA.
Science and technology minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi, BJD MLAs Pravat Biswal and Rabi Narayan Nanda, Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Majhi and his Koraput counterpart Jayram Pangi attended the ceremony.
Naveen said: “Majhi’s murder was a tragic and savage one. He was a social worker and served people of his constituency. The criminals who have committed this murder are cowards.”
Protesting against the killing, the BJD supporters today observed a 12-hour bandh at Umerkote in Nabarangpur. As a mark of respect, the shops closed down their shutters.
Wheelchair-bound MLA Majhi and his 25-year-old personal security officer Prasanta Kumar Patra alias Pinku were shot dead on Saturday at Gonahatapadar village under Raighar police station of Nabarangpur which borders Chhattisigarh. He was murdered while distributing land title rights to the tribals.
Pinku’s body was cremated at his village Koshagudumutha. The villagers turned up to bid a farewell to their “brave son”.
Though the police started investigation, they have not yet been able to gather any information regarding the criminals behind the act.
Director general of police Manmohan Praharaj said: “Nothing can be ruled out. We are investigating the matter from all possible angles, taking his political background into consideration.”
“As the areas come under the Maoist belt, the rebels’ involvement could not be ruled out. However, it is difficult to ascertain the exact reason behind the murder at this moment,” said the director general of police
One of MLA’s supporters, Rama Ganda, who sustained injuries, was battling for life. He was shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
In another development, Naveen took a review meeting on security being provided to the MLAs, the MPs and the ministers.
Chief secretary Bijay Patnaik said: “We will again write to the protectees about the security aspect to public representatives. A sort of awareness on security aspects will be developed among them.”
