A suspect in a double murder, a rapist and a robber who spent more than half his life in prison, Alija Balijagić (65) from Bijelo Polje, was not arrested until late last night, although, according to the authorities, all available police forces and elite military units were involved in the search for him.
It is suspected that Balijagić killed him on Friday evening, around 21.30:XNUMX p.m., in the Bjelopolje village of Sokolac. Milenka Madžgalj (69) and her brother Jovan Madžgalj (60), and then ran away.
The police allegedly searched for him for days for theft, and before the murder he spent almost the whole day in that village.
Armed with a rifle, posing as a hunter Draskovic who is looking for lost keros, visited households, to finally sit down with Madžgalje. After they escorted him out, he allegedly shot Jovan through the window of the house, and then broke the door and fired shots at his sister.
The police, to whom the residents of that mountain village above Tomaševo had been reporting for at least ten days that a suspicious man was walking with a rifle in the katun and the surrounding forests, visiting houses and them, came only when Balijagić left two victims behind.
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According to the same information, he stole the weapon a few days ago from the house of a man from Belarus, which he had previously broken into.
"Vijesti" unofficially learned that before the murder in Sokolac, Balijagić was also seen in Barice and Pisana jela.
Allegedly, the Serbian police were also looking for the killer last night, due to information that gunshots were heard in the border village of Slatka...
Potraga
The Police Administration (UP) officially announced that all their available forces are involved in the search for the killer.
On the ground are the police, intervention units, Anti-Terrorist Police Unit (PTJ), Special Police Unit (PJP), Border Police, elders from all UP Sectors who lead and coordinate the search activities, drones, helicopters, search dogs.
Almost the entire police force used thermal imaging cameras in the search, and helicopters from the Ministry of the Interior flew over the vast forests and villages of the Vraneška Valley during the day.
Last night, the Special Purpose Squad, an elite special unit of the Army of Montenegro, joined the search, whose members were sent to the area where Balijagić is being searched for.
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Only after the media published Balijagić's photo, yesterday around 16:XNUMX p.m. did the Police Directorate, from where they announced that this man from Bjelopolje can be linked to the execution of a double murder in the hamlet of Sokolac, near Tomasevo in Bijelo Polje.
"At this stage of the investigation, the Police Directorate, on the basis of legal regulations and the appropriate approval of the competent prosecutor's office, publishes a photograph of the person who is wanted, and informs and appeals to the public that if you see this person, report the same information immediately, that is, inform the police by calling the number on duty of the Department of Security Bijelo Polje 067/184-844 or the toll-free number 122, the nearest police station or another way. "Citizens can report their information about this person to the police anonymously by calling these numbers," the Police Directorate announced yesterday afternoon.
Even then, they appealed to the citizens of Bijelo Polje, especially the villagers in the Vraneška valley, to be careful, stay in their homes and not allow unknown persons to enter.
Fear reigned in the villages
President of the Local Community (MZ) Tomaševo Vesko Gogić he told the News yesterday that the residents of Sokoc, Čokrlija, Barica, Lijeska have been living in great fear of Balijagić since Friday evening, who had been in that area for ten days, but that the police had done nothing to find him.
"This is a terrible and unprecedented crime of killing innocent, honest people, who previously fed and watered the murderer. He moved around the villages for days and for ten days the police did nothing to find him. We were ordered not to leave our houses, no one knows how or until when. The victims of the crime were also locked up, so he shot them through the window, which is unbelievable," said Gogić.
He added that the consequences of a real danger to residents, especially children, are unfathomable, especially since Balijagić has been seen for ten days with a rifle and relatives, presenting himself as a hunter who lost his dogs.
And a local Dragan Grba confirmed that neighbors reported Balijagić moving around those villages, but that the police did not react. "Balijagić was on the move for several days and reported him three days ago Milija Zejak, but no one reacted. Last night, when you couldn't see a finger in front of your eye, they flew over with a helicopter, and today they are gone," Grba said yesterday.
Who is to blame?
At this moment, the police know that Balijagić is armed and that he has ammunition, but also that he knows all the villages and the mountain ridge of the Vraneška valley well, which makes the pursuit much more difficult.
A day after the double murder, a key question arises - did the police respond adequately when they received numerous calls from the village that a suspicious man had appeared in the katun, as well as who and how failed in the entire security system.
Several people interviewed by Vijesta from the Police Directorate confirmed that after several days of calls from the locals, they immediately assumed that it was Alija Balijagić, who was known to be a repeat offender in the commission of serious crimes for decades, a bandit who spread fear in the villages of Bijelo Polje, a rapist...
In addition, the police knew that Balijagić had also stolen a weapon from the house of a man from Bijelo Polje, that he was armed and had ammunition, and was dangerous, but that was not enough to start looking for him with much more operatives before the crime.
Those familiar with the security system believe that in this case, the system probably malfunctioned and that the police handled the numerous reports from the locals that an armed suspect was roaming around their village.
"Obviously, there was a lack of a more serious, timely and planned search, as well as the police's persistence to go and arrest the dangerous Balijagić with all available operatives," claims a Vijesti source from the police.
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After the call, police patrols visited the village, but during their visit to Sokolac, they did not find him for days...
Only when a crime occurred in the village, uniformed police, members of the elite PTJ and PJP units, the Border Police, and search leaders from all sectors of the Police Administration system were sent to the mountain and forest terrain.
Apart from the search, one of the important questions is whether someone from the North Regional Center and the Police Administration system will be responsible for the actions of the police during the multi-day search for Balijagić, who has been sowing fear in the surrounding villages for years...
The big question is when and whether the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje was informed at all that the residents of the village above Tomaševo have been calling and reporting an armed man for days because they fear for their safety.
Ordered an autopsy and forensic examination of traces
After the investigation, Senior State Prosecutor Vanja Rakonjac ordered that the bodies of the murdered Madžgalje be sent for autopsy, and the traces removed from the scene for expert examination at the Danilovgrad Forensic Center.
The Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje announced that on Friday evening, around 22 pm, the police informed the police that Milenka and Jovan Madžgalj had died in the town of Sokolac.
"On October 26.10.2024, XNUMX, the state prosecutor with the OPS OB Bijelo Polje and the officers of the Forensic Center of Montenegro, carried out an investigation of the narrow and wider area of the scene, during which traces were excluded that will be the subject of expert examination at the Forensic Center in Danilovgrad. An autopsy was ordered on the body of the deceased. MM and JM in order to determine the circumstances under which the death occurred. During the investigation, it was established that MM and JM were killed by the use of firearms", announced the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje.
They added that by order of the state prosecutor, measures and actions are being undertaken with the aim of establishing the identity of the perpetrator of the criminal act and finding him.
"After collecting evidence important for determining the circumstances under which the event took place and after determining the identity of the perpetrator, the public will be informed in a timely manner. The reconnaissance is in progress", said VDT Bijelo Polje.
Hunters not to disturb the police
The Directorate for Management of Forests and Hunting Grounds of Montenegro called on hunters to refrain from going hunting today, in order to facilitate the police's search for the killer, who has been wanted since Friday evening.
"In the case of additional needs, the competent authorities will ask for help," the Administration announced last night, a few hours after initially calling hunters to help the police.
Slave for 38 years
According to Balijagić's criminal records, which Vijesti had access to, this Bjelopol resident has been convicted several times for various crimes in the past four decades, and courts in Montenegro and Serbia have sentenced him to long-term prison sentences, totaling around 38 years.
In May 2016, Balijagić was sentenced to seven years in prison, due to accusations that on October 30, 2015, he raped a seventy-six-year-old woman three times in her house in a village in Bjelopolje.
He was convicted of theft, robbery, violence, illegal possession of weapons, attacks on police officers...
21 years ago, he was arrested in an operation by the then Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, after a several-day pursuit of an armed robber, who was wanted for a series of thefts and robberies in villages in the border zone, on the triple border of Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In June 1982, Balijagić was sentenced to 30 days in prison, and the following year to one year, then to six months in prison. Already in 1984, the Bijelo Polje court sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison for inflicting serious bodily injuries.
He was given a suspended sentence in 1986, three months to one year in prison, and in 1988 he was sentenced to one year and six months.
Three years later, he was tried in two courts - on August 8, 1991, he was sentenced to two years and three months, and on November 7 of the same year to one year.
He also received a year in prison in 1992, while in 1993 he was sentenced to five years and six months.
In the Basic Court in Bijelo Polje, he was sentenced to one year in prison on February 21, 2003, and on July 1 of the same year, the District Court in Užice sentenced him to seven years and 10 months in prison.
In November of the same year, he was sentenced to a single prison term of two years, in the three cases in which he was accused.
On March 21, 2008, for serious theft, Balijagić was sentenced to two years in prison, and on September 26 of the same year to another three months.
He was also convicted of illegal possession of weapons.
Seven years later, in the fall of 2015, he committed several burglaries in Bjelopolje villages, and then broke into the house of an old woman, where she lived alone, hit her on the head with a lamp, raped her three times and threatened to slaughter her if she report.
He was arrested at the end of November of the same year after he shot in the direction of the policemen who noticed him...
Šaranović: We are aware of citizens' anxiety
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Šaranović, said yesterday from Sokoc that they are aware of the agitation and concerns of the citizens, especially those who live in the area of Bijelo Polje and its surroundings, that they understand their fear, but also want to assure them that their every effort is aimed at rather ensure the safety of each individual and find the perpetrator.
Adding that he regrets the tragic event, he said that most of the buildings in the surrounding villages are under the control of the police and that the local population has been informed about the necessary precautions.
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The President of the Assembly Andrija Mandić wrote on the social network Iks that he is convinced that the criminal will be caught and brought to justice as soon as possible.
"I want to express my sincere condolences to the family of the murdered brother and sister Jovan and Milenko Madžgalj at this painful moment," said Mandić.
He appealed to the residents of Tomasevo and Bijeli Polje to stay in their homes until the criminal is caught.
The head of the Islamic community in Montenegro, Rifat Fejzić, expressed his condolences to the family.
"On behalf of the Islamic community and myself, I express my sincere condolences to the Madžgalj family regarding the tragedy and heavy murder of two innocent people. We need stricter laws so that such inhumans should not dare to commit such atrocious and inhuman acts," wrote Fejzić on Iks.
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