Deep-seated fear and hatred of Maoists in Jharkhand’s villages led to the lynching of a young Opposition leader and his driver by villagers who apparently mistook them for Left-wing rebels despite the hapless duo’s pleas to the contrary, the police said on Tuesday.
Mukesh Kumar Singh, 35, Deogarh district president of the All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU), and his driver were beaten to death allegedly by villagers of Rohini Nawadih village in the north-eastern district late on Monday night. The villagers, who were patrolling their village throughout the night armed with sticks and other weapons, also burnt down the four-wheeler Singh and his driver were in as the duo were on their way to the pilgrim town of Deoghar, some four km off the site of the double murder.
“It seems to be an unfortunate end of a case of mistaken identity, but the exact cause will be known only after a thorough probe” said Deoghar sub-divisional police officer Animesh Nathani to reporters. He said a heated argument occurred between the villagers and the two victims over the four-wheeler not stopping despite villagers trying to stop it in suspicion of Maoists travelling in it.
The villagers allegedly chased the car, forced it to stop and then, despite the duo pleading not to be Maoists, beat the two men mercilessly, causing their death on the spot. No arrests were made till Tuesday evening though the police were probing the incident after registering an FIR.
The AJSU, a constituent of the NDA and part of the earlier state government led by the BJP’s Arjun Munda, termed Singh’s death as a “political murder” and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. The Hemant Soren-led coalition government was yet to announce any such move. The AJSU also threatened to launch an agitation unless the killers were arrested immediately.
“Mukesh Singh, a popular leader in the area, was killed by a political conspiracy. We demand immediate arrest of the culprits and a judicial probe,” said Deo Sharan Bhagat, AJSU working president.