RANCHI: More than 15,000 people of nearly 100 villages in Jharkhand’s Chaibasa have taken to the streets with bows, arrows, swords and other traditional weapons, launching a campaign against the Maoists active in the area.
According to local sources, the villagers have launched operation Sendra (a traditional hunting festival celebrated primarily by the tribal communities in Jharkhand) during which a PLFI group leader, Meta Tiger and Gomia are said to have been killed after receiving injuries from the arrows shot by them.
The villagers are on a hunt for one more rebel, who is still at large. The villagers were mobilized after the Maoists killed three village youths last month. However, no concrete action was taken by the police which enraged the villagers after which they decided to take up arms targeting the extremists.
There are more than 100 villages in this area like Senregada, Saurli, Tomdel, Simko, Giru, Guddi, Burukel, and Bandu, where villagers could be seen armed with traditional weapons.
Meanwhile, there is an atmosphere of undeclared curfew in the villages where the mass movement has been launched by the villagers. Entry of outsiders has been completely banned in the villages within a 40 km radius of Gudri.
“Carrying mobile phones is prohibited in these villages and those involved in the movement are also not allowed to carry a mobile phone. The teachers, however, have been allowed to visit their schools located in these villages for teaching purposes but they also cannot use mobile phones in the region,” said a local requesting anonymity.
According to the dictates issued in these villages, every household must send at least two members to join this campaign. The families, who will not join, will be imposed fines by the gram Panchayat and may be subjected to social boycott.
The police, however, are yet to confirm the killing as they have not fond the bodies of the deceased. According to Chaibasa SP Ashutosh Shekhar, a massive search operation has been launched in the region but neither the villagers nor the bodies of the deceased has been found.
“We have information of the killing of a PLFI rebel by the villagers in the region but it is yet to be verified as no dead body has been recovered from the area,” said the SP.
DGP Anurag Gupta, who was also on a visit to Chaibasa on Sunday, said that this is not the first time that people have been opposing the Maoists. “I think such incidents will increase further. If Maoists create problem for the villagers, they will drag them out of their villages,” said the DGP.
Notably, Gudri has a lot of sand ghats over the Koel River where the PLFI cadres used to collect levy from the tractors which used to lift sand from these ghats.
After the arresting of PLFI Supreme Dinesh Gope and killing of Shanichar Surin and Jidan Guria, the PLFI was weakened, but PLFI Area Commander Radung alias Lambu, with the help of Meta Tiger, Gomia, Martin and others, formed a gang and killed three innocent youths of the village to collect the levy and dominate the area. This incited anger among the villagers and turned into a mass movement.
Later, with the support of villagers, Radung alias Lambu was killed by the police on 1 December 2024. Notably, in January 2021 also, villagers killed seven people in the Burugulikera village of Gudri.