Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday directed the police to constitute a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe into the brutal killings of seven villagers in West Singhbhum allegedly by Pathalgadi supporters on Tuesday — the first ever incident of gruesome murders in a bid to suppress the voices that rise against the Pathalgadi movement.
“Nobody has the right to take law in hand. We will ensure an impartial probe into the matter. And the strictest possible action will be taken against the perpetrators,” Soren said, asking police officials to investigate the case from all perspectives and nab the culprits.
Seven villagers, including a deputy village head, were abducted on Sunday for allegedly protesting the Pathalgadi movement in Burugurikela village. Some Pathalgadi supporters, police said, had asked the villagers to surrender their Government identity proofs and the abducted men had shown vocal resistance to the demand. Their bodies were found on Tuesday with their throats slit, police said.
Soren had called for an emergency meeting with top officials of various law enforcement agencies in the State on Wednesday in the wake of the murders. “I understand that police cannot be everywhere. But all the law enforcement agencies should try and prevent the occurrence of any such incident in the State in future,” Soren said.
He also extended his support to the kin of the diseased men and asked the district officials to provide all possible support to the families of the men who were killed. “The purpose behind the killing is not clear yet. Following the directive of the CM, we will constitute an SIT under the concerned Deputy Superintendent of Police to probe into the case,” said Additional Director General (Operations) Murari Lal Meena.
The Pathalgadi movement, which has its epicenter in Khunti, advocates the idea of having liberated lands in the interiors where the administration’s interventions are prohibited. In 2017, villagers in parts of Khunti district held Pathalgadi –a practice of demarcating the borders of a village and declaring it as liberated land through writings on stone plaques — and allegedly prohibited entry of the administration in their villages. Some villagers had also reportedly held a few cops hostage during the process. The government had swung into action and launched a massive drive against the movement which resulted in arrest of several Gram Pradhans and Pathalgadi supporters.
Cut to 2020, the Pathalgadi supporters are running a campaign to make villagers reject facilities under various welfare schemes of the government, said officials from West Singbhum, adding that the surrender of identity cards was a part of the campaign. The West Singhbhum administration has identified at least six people involved in advocating the idea of Pathalgadi through muscle power in the villages and will soon launch a manhunt to nab them.
This is the second incident of crime related to Pathalgadi that has shaken the State. Earlier in June 2018, five women activists were gangraped by Pathalgadi supporters in Khunti for protesting the movement. A local court sentenced all six accused in the case to life imprisonment in May 2019.
The incident has mounted pressure on the CM to take immediate actions as it comes close on the heels of his decision of withdrawing sedition charges leveled against Pathalgadi supporters in Jharkhand during the former BJP regime here.
