Vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt, streets wore a deserted look and government and private establishments shut down as the District Adivasi Mahasangha and members of BJP called a 12-hour bandh over the alleged murder of a physically-challenged tribal warden, Laxmi Majhi, in Rayagada district on Friday.

Seeking justice against torture and murder of tribal people, the agitators demanded a CBI probe into not just the case of the warden but two other alleged murders of tribal leaders which took place in the district.

On December 21, a semi-nude body of Laxmi Majhi was recovered from hospital premises. Majhi, a resident of Naketiguda village in Tikiri panchayat of Kashipur block, was working as a warden at Maa Gruha in Chandrapur for the last five years. On the fateful day, she had left Maa Gruha at around 4 pm. Hours later, her fellow workers found her half-charred body and informed her family who alleged that she had been murdered. Prior to that, tribal youth leaders Bhagirathi Mandangi and Purushottam Gamango were allegedly killed in December 2010 and December 2019, respectively.

Following Majhi’s death, the Zilla Adivasi Mahasangh and later the BJP Mahila Morcha had staged protests alleging police inaction and announced a bandh on January 5. “It’s been 16 days since Chandrapur warden Laxmi Majhi was found dead, but police and Crimbe Branch have not yet nabbed the accused. This is not an isolated case. First, BJD leader Bhagirathi Mandangi, then Purushottam Gamango and now is the case of Majhi. There has been no headway in their death investigations. We want justice for these people and demand a CBI probe into the three murders,” the protestors stated

On December 29, the Crime Branch had initiated its inquiry at the Maa Gruha, where Laxmi Majhi served as a warden. Initial findings indicated that Majhi, who was allegedly killed on December 21, might have been murdered elsewhere before her body was set on fire near Maa Gruha to erase crucial evidence.