Maoists kill father-son duo in Jharkhand, injure one
MIDNIGHT HORROR A 20man squad raided the village late in the night, pulled out the 58yearold man and his son, shot them dead
An armed CPI (Maoists) squad gunned down two persons- a father-son duo, besides critically injuring one villager in Kuliya village of Palamu district before retreating into Bihar’s Aurangabad district late Monday night.
A 20-man strong squad raided the village late in the night, pulled out the victims identified as Shivnath Yadav, 58, and his son Guddu Yadav, 28, from their homes, thrashed them brutally and shot them dead. Another villager, Dhirendra Yadav, was also mercilessly beaten up but was not fired at. The Maoists accused them to be supporters of rival outfit Tritiya-Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TPC) that allegedly enjoys political patronage for fighting the Maoists, the country’s biggest internal security threat.
The incident assumes significance as the Maoists had perpetrated the crime despite pushed to the backfoot by security operations in the Palamu region and after a prolonged lull.
According to Shivnath’s family members, the Maoists dragged out the duo from their home, thrashed them with sticks and crushed their faces with stones. “Finally, my father and brother were gunned down. They died on the spot,” said Rakesh, Shivanath’s youngest son.
After the Maoists left the village with a warning to the villagers to refrain from working for rival outfits, relatives of injured Dhirendra rushed him to Aurangabad from where he was rushed to Bihar’s capital Patna for better treatment. “He was very critical when he left,” said Rakesh.
Palamu superintendent of police Indrajit Mahatha said, “Maoists have killed innocent persons branding them as TPC supporters. They came from Bihar just to register their presence in Jharkhand before hastily returning soon after perpetrating the crime.”
Mahatha added, “We will support the victims family and ensure they are adequately compensated for the loss. We are sending a proposal offering two government jobs to the dependants of the victims’ families to the state government.”
“We are also co-coordinating with Bihar police and have launched a joint operation to nab them,” the SP said.
Kulhiya seated amidst hilly terrain under the Hariharganj police station of Palamu district is 10 km from the nearest police station. It is also the last village on Jhakhand side and Bihar is barely a kilometre from here.