RANCHI: A violent clash broke out between two groups over the construction of a boundary wall by an outsourcing company at the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) Kharkhari Colliery.
Baghmara SDPO Purushottam Kumar Singh was seriously injured.
The incident took place in the Hilltop Company premises in Madhuban police station area.
During the bloody confrontation, Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary's party office was torched by the unruly crowd.
The clash, which erupted following disagreements over compensation and jobs for landholders (rayyats), turned violent leading to stone pelting, bombings, and firing. Several motorcycles were also set ablaze by the crowed during the violence.
Local, whose lands were being acquired (raiyyats), opposed the construction demanding proper compensation and employment.
Another group supported the construction work, leading to tensions between the two sides.
The conflict began in the morning when Hiltop Outsourcing Company started constructing a boundary wall in the Babudih area.
According to Madhuban Police Station Officer-in-Charge, Jaiprakash, the situation is now under control, and raids are being conducted in various locations to apprehend others connected to the clash.
“The situation quickly escalated, with large-scale violence breaking out. Both groups resorted to stone pelting, bombings, and firing, intensifying the confrontation. Motorcycles were set on fire,” said a local requesting anonymity.
SDPO Purushottam Kumar Singh reached the spot to pacify the crowd but he was injured after being hit by a stone thrown by the crowd.
Later, the groups dispersed, and additional police personnel from four nearby stations were roped in to restore order and apprehend the culprits.
However, the situation worsened after police arrested Karu Yadav, a local leader associated with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
Yadav’s supporters staged protests, pelting stones at the police.
The unrest culminated in an angry mob setting the Kharkhari-based office of Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary on fire.
Incidentally, Choudhary had earlier urged the outsourcing company to suspend the boundary wall construction until the demands of the land losers were met. The area falls under his Giridih Lok Sabha constituency.