The Kumram Bheem Asifabad district police have picked up some suspects for questioning in the case of the missing Adivasi social worker Jugnak Rambhadevi. An unspecified number of suspects were identified based in the call data record of her mobile phone.
The police is hoping to solve the 12-day-old mystery soon though sources say the questioning of suspects has not yielded any positive result so far. The 36 year old Raj Gond tribe leader belonging to the far flung Pangdi Madora village in Tiryani mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district went missing on December 16 but her family lodged a complaint only on December 19.
“We have been searching for her since then. As many as five special parties and the Central Crime Station policemen are looking for her in a radius of five km of the place where her chunni (scarf) and footwear were found,” revealed Tiryani Sub Inspector of Police Pushpala Rama Rao of the effort of the police.
District Superintendent of Police M. Malla Reddy also visited the spot on December 26. However, there was no clue to be found as to her disappearance.
Mr. Rama Rao told The Hindu that on the day Rambhadevi vanished, she was last seen near Khairguda, about 6 km from Pangdi Madora. “On December 22, we found her chunni and footwear on the Geeta mandir road,” he added of the result of continuous search for the missing social worker.
The intrepid Adivasi leader from grassroots used to drive an old scooter and would visit towns like Asifabad and the mandal headquarters to help out aggrieved Adivasis from her village and other habitations in the mandal. She was an active participant in tribal activities in her part of the district.
