Odisha police interrogate surrendered Maoist leader

Nabarangpur: A special team of the Odisha police has just returned from Andhra Pradesh after interrogating surrendered Maoist leader of Chhattisgarh Jane Salem, one of the alleged masterminds in the killing of the then ruling BJD MLA of Umerkote, Jagabandhu Majhi and his security officer in September 2011.

Jane Salem, who surrendered in Hyderabad on January 31, is a Telugu Maoist leader active in Meinpur area of Chhattisgarh bordering Nabarangpur District. His real name is Seetanarasinghamulu and he belongs to Medak district of Andhra Pradesh. As he is a Telugu cadre, he surrendered before the special intelligence branch (SIB) of Andhra Pradesh, police said here today.

Soon after receiving this information, a special team of police from Nabarangpur rushed to Hyderabad to interrogate Salem on whose head Odisha Government had announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh.

On the future course of action by the police relating to the murder of Jagabandhu Majhi, Superintendent of Police, Nabarangpur, Brajesh Rai said, "It all depends on the decisions of both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments."

It may be recalled that on September 24, 2011 the then Umerkote MLA Jagabandhu Majhi and his personal security officer (PSO) P K Patro were shot dead at Gona village. The incident occurred when Jagabandhu was distributing land patas to people. The armed assailants fled from the site after gunning down Jagabandhu and Patro in two motorcycles raising slogan 'Maovadi Zindabad', police said.

The local police claimed that the killing was executed by Maoists of Meinpur Division. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered a Crime Branch investigation into the killing.

Before the by-election for Umerkote Assembly seat in November 2011, Maoists in an interview with a local vernacular media of Umerkote, admitted that they had killed Jagabandhu.

The operation was executed by the Maoist cadres of Meinpur Divisional Committee under which the northern border areas of the district fall. Later the chief of the Maoist division also admitted to the killing in a TV interview.

After Umerkote by-election, during January 2012 Crime Branch police identifed Maoist leaders Jane Salem and Satyam Ghabede as masterminds of the killing, and made a requisition in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class at Umerkote to issue non-bailable warrants against them. The court had issued the same.

Salem heads the outlawed CPI (Maoist) Meinpur Division in the adjoining Chhattisgarh and Ghabede is the area commander of Satinadi Area Committee under which Raighar block in Nabarangpur comes.