Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren orders SIT investigation in Chaibasa murders

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday ordered for Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the killing of seven people who were allegedly murdered in Burugulikera village of Chaibasa for staging a protest against the Pathalgadi movement here.

The order came after the Chief Minister held a high-level meeting with Director General of Police (DGP), and other top officers.

Before conducting the meeting Soren said: "The government does not give the right to anyone to take law in their hands. Lots of rumours are being spread but the government will take strict and unbiased action."

Police have recovered the bodies of all the seven people who had gone missing since Sunday.

Police had received information on Tuesday that the protestors have been killed, following which a manhunt was launched.

"All the seven bodies were recovered from a place three kilometres away from Gulikera village. The entire area is surrounded by hills," said ADG (operations) Murari Lal Meena.

Describing the sequence leading to the incident, police said that a clash broke out between the groups in favour and against the Pathalgadi movement. This lead to the vandalisation of the properties of the pro-Pathalgadi group.

The victims' families have alleged the involvement of Naxals in the incident. Police are further investigating the matter.

After taking office in December last year, the Jharkhand Cabinet had announced that all cases registered during the Pathalgadi movement and protests against the amendments to Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act) and Santhal Paragana Tenancy Act, 1949 (SPT Act) will be withdrawn.

Pathalgadi refers to a practice of placing stone plaques with declarations and warning inscribed on them at the entry point of villages.

The plaques, proclaiming allegiance to the Constitution, carried inscriptions dismissing the authority of centre and state governments in the villages. It declared the gram sabha as the only sovereign authority and prohibited the entry of outsiders in the villages.