Eighteen months after the gruesome murder of former Umerkote MLA Jagabandhu Majhi at Gona village in Raighar block near Umerkote, the case was reopened by the Crime Branch. The government sent Crime Branch DSP Rabindra Suar to reopen the case and conduct the investigation afresh.

Although the government claims the involvement of Maoists in the murder of Jagabandhu Majhi, many other believe that the political rivalry could be behind the murder of fiery MLA, who had more enemies than friends in the area. Jagabandhu Majhi and his PSO were gunned down in broad daylight on September 24, 2011 while he was distributing ‘forest land patta’ to tribals.

The Crime Branch has already recorded the testimonies of over 250 people. But, the main culprits are still at large. Jagabandhu’s close associate Subash Gond was later elected as the MLA from Umerkote in a high-voltage contest.