Unknown assailants shot dead a 60-year-old tribal man at Jamuadag under the Sadar police station of Khunti district on Wednesday, triggering a protest across the locality, police said on Thursday.
According to officials, Edelsanga Parha Raja (traditional head) and headmaster of a Hindi-medium Chalangi High School, Soma Munda, was on his way to his residence at Chalangi from Khunti town on Wednesday with his wife when two bike-borne assailants overtook their bike, and the pillion rider fired two shots at him. He was rushed to KS Ganga Hospital in the town, where doctors declared him dead.
A police official deputed for the maintenance of law and order in the district said the protesters, including Soma Munda’s wife, Amrita Munda, and others, blocked the road connecting the state capital with Chaibasa and Simdega at Bhagat Singh Chowk and stopped vehicular movement from morning till 2.30 pm on Thursday.
“Protesters placed Soma Munda’s body in the middle of the road at Bhagat Singh Chowk and began a massive demonstration. A large number of people gathered at the square, demanding the immediate arrest of the killers. The demonstration caused a long snarl of vehicles on the road,” the official said.
Khunti SP Manish Toppo confirmed the case and said police had already started a probe. “None of his family members hinted at any dispute with anyone. We are trying to ascertain why someone shot him,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Khunti SP Manish Toppo confirmed the case and said police had already started a probe. “None of his family members hinted at any dispute with anyone. We are trying to ascertain why someone shot him,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}A police official said an FIR has been registered in this connection at Khunti police station, and directions have been given to gather clues. “A case under section 101 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 27 of the Arms Act has been registered against unidentified people in this connection. Directions have been given to police officials to identify the assailants and take action,” an official at Khunti police station said.
A tribal leader said Soma Munda was a respectable person in the locality.
“Munda was the Parha Raja of Edelsanga Parha Panchayat of 32 villages. A Parha Raja is the elected head of a Parha Panchayat, a traditional confederacy of several villages among the tribes in Jharkhand. It acts as a supreme appellate court for serious disputes beyond village-level authority and presides over community functions,” the tribal leader said.
Janjati Surkasha Manch spokesperson and Jharkhand Mukhiya Association president Soma Oraon condemned the murder, saying, “The tribal community of Jharkhand wants to know from chief minister Hemant Soren how many more tribal women will be raped and how many more social workers will be murdered in the next four years. Law and order under your government is completely in disarray. Mothers and sisters feel completely unsafe. When will all this improve? Tell the public.”
Congress executive president Bandhu Tirkey condemned the incident and demanded the immediate arrest of the assailant. “The murder of a Parha Raja is a serious crime. No political angle should be attached to it. The criminals must be arrested,” he said. Party spokesperson Sonal Shanti said Janjati Suraksha Manch should refrain from politics. “Where was the Manch when an FIR was registered against 1,000 tribals in Khunti during Raghubar Das’s rule, and firing took place on tribals in Tapkara?” Shanti asked.