E-Paper
JMM leader among two killed as Maoists open fire in market
Maoists claimed responsibility for the attack by leaving pamphlets on the spot calling for a boycott of the coming Jharkhand assembly election.
Two persons, including a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, were killed in indiscriminate firing by Maoists at Pipra Bazar in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Saturday. Two others were injured in the attack.
Maoists claimed responsibility for the attack by leaving pamphlets on the spot calling for a boycott of the coming Jharkhand assembly election. The deceased were identified as JMM leader Mohan Gupta (45), who recently switched over from the Bharatiya Janata Party, and fruit seller Suraj Soni (21).
Eyewitnesses said suspected Maoists opened fire at Gupta with AK-47 assault rifles. Gupta’s wife is the block pramukh. The injured were admitted at Palamu Medical College and Hospital for treatment. Palamu deputy commissioner (DC) Dr Shantanu Agrahari said, “Mohan Gupta died in the firing at Pipra Bazar while three more were injured in the incident of which one died at the hospital.”
Palamu JMM president Rajendra Sinha said Gupta was working as the block head of the JMM. Palamu range in-charge deputy inspector general of police (DIG) AV Homkar confirmed the involvement of the CPI (Maoists) in the incident. Gupta had escaped a similar Maoist attack in 2012 .
This is the third Maoist attack in Jharkhand in less than 24 hours. On Friday night, CPI(Maoists) members killed four police personnel at Chandwa in Latehar. Earlier on Saturday, the CPI (Maoists) had also torched two earthmovers at a road construction site at Masuriyakhad under Kisko police station of Lohardaga district. The place of occurrence is close to Latehar district borders.
A day after four policemen were killed in an alleged ambush by suspected CPI (Maoists) cadre in Latehar district of Jharkhand, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday appointed former Manipur DGP MK Das as the special police observer for the state assembly elections.
An EC statement on Saturday said, “The EC took the decision in the light of the challenges of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affecting the law and order situation in Jharkhand. He would oversee the deployment (of forces) and other security-related issues in the state.” Das was also deputed as the special observer for Tripura and Mizoram during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Jharkhand assembly polls are being held in five phases beginning November 30. In the first phase, nine of the 13 seats fall in the Maoist-hit Palamu division of which Latehar is a part.
