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Jharkhand Assembly Election 2019: Surrendered Maoist Kundan Pahan gets permission to contest assembly polls
A special court allowed former Maoist Kundan Pahan to contest Jharkhand Assembly elections after he filed an undertaking that he would create no public disturbance or nuisance and maintain peace during filing nomination.
Once a dreaded Maoist, Kundan Pahan will contest assembly polls from Jharkhand’s Tamar (ST) constituency from inside the jail after a special National Investigation Agency court on Monday allowed him to file his nomination papers.
“The court has permitted him to file nomination papers for the assembly polls after getting an undertaking from him. Pahan gave an undertaking that he would create no public disturbance or nuisance and maintain peace during filing nomination,” said his lawyer Ishwar Dayal Kishor. Kishore informed that Pahan would file his nomination papers on November 15 as Independent candidate. “We gave a tentative date to the court for filing the nomination,” he said.
When he was informed that November 15 is Statehood Day, he said, “No issue, if he could not file his papers on November 15 due to any reason, he would file the next day. We will request for a fresh date from the court.”
Pahan, who carried a reward of ₹15 lakh on his head, had surrendered before the Jharkhand police on September 14, 2017 under a government surrender policy called Nai Disha.
He was wanted in more than 125 cases including murders of inspector Francis Induwar and legislator Ramesh Singh Munda. He allegedly beheaded special branch inspector, Induwar in 2009. He had also allegedly seized a cash van of ICICI bank from NH-33 in 2008 and vanished with the vehicle along with cash in the jungle.
Pahan had allegedly joined the rebel outfit in 2000 following a land dispute with influential people in his village Arki. He shifted to Bundu where he allegedly spilled the first blood of a Manki, head of a cluster of villages.
Tamar, a scheduled tribe reserved seat, will go to polls in second phase on December 7. Nomination for second phase began on Monday and the last date of nomination filing for the phase is November 18.
The contest in the seat will be interesting after another likely contestant from Tamar is also contest polls from the jail after an NIA court on November 6 allowed him to file his nomination papers.Former minister and a murder accused, Raja Peter alias Gopla Krishna Patar is in prison facing charges of conspiring with CPI (Maoist) to murder the then Tamar legislator Ramesh Singh Munda in 2008.
