RANCHI: Anil Singh Kherwar, member of Naxal outfit - Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), was beaten to death by villagers late in the night on Thursday allegedly while making a rape attempt on a lady living in the nearby locality at Irgu village under Panki Police Station in Palamu.
According to Police, an investigation has been initiated after lodging a case in this regard. "Anil Singh Kherwar, a member of JJMP, barged into the house of a lady last night who lives nearby with ill-intentions and started trying to rape her, but she resisted strongly and raised an alarm following which the neighbours came in to rescue her, who also got indulged in a scuffle with him resulting into the death of the rebel," said Palamu SP Indrajeet Mahtha. Prima facie it appears that Kherwar was hit on his vital parts leading to his death on the spot, he added.
"Though the lady was alone when Kherwar barged into her house, his relatives and neighbours came in after an alarm was raised by her and thrashed him," said the SP. It is purely a matter of self-defence, where the lady tries to save herself from the person and hits out leading to his death, he added.
"An investigation has been initiated after taking the statement of the lady where she has clearly mentioned that the person was killed while trying to rape her," Mahtha said. Several other complaints have been lodged against Kherwar earlier also for demanding levy from contractors engaged in road construction and other government buildings in the region, he added.
Kherwar held a strong position in the squad of top JJMP leader Pappu Lohra.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered during a joint search operation of State Police and 134 battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force in the jungles of Jagdishpur under Hariharganj Police Station in Palamu on Friday. SP Mahtha said, "3 rifles, 3 12-bore single barrel guns, 1 double barrel gun, 2 country made pistols along with 50 meters of codex wire and 85 gelatin sticks and 2 detonators were recovered during the search operation."