Tribals in Bihar, a tiny minority population that many believe did not exist after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, are suddenly in the news after three landless tribals were shot dead by non-tribal landowners in the eastern Purnea district three days ago.
The deaths of Karan Tudu, 30, Rakesh Tudu, 25, and Manju Marandi, 45, on Sunday generated little attention as all eyes in Bihar were fixed that day on the massive “Adhikar rally” organised in Patna by the ruling JD(U) and the surprising visit of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to Patna to condole the death of BJP veteran Kailashpati Mishra. A long-running dispute over the ownership of six bighas of land in Bhatsara village, which the local tribals had been share-cropping for decades, resulted in a clash leading to the supporters of one Sitaram Yadav firing at tribal protesters and killing the three.
On Tuesday, tension gripped the area again as hundreds of aggrieved tribals returned to the disputed land to reclaim it as their own and demanded arrest of all the culprits, forcing the district administration to rush in 200 policemen. The tribals allegedly tried to forcibly confine the local SDO, but failed as the police intervened. Purnea SP Amit Lodha said the tribals were persuaded not to resort to any violence till an inquiry into the dispute was over. A compensation of `5 lakh to each of the dead tribal’s kin was already sanctioned, he said.
None of the major political parties in Bihar has spoken about these three violent murders.