LKM and ex-BJP leader Surya Hansda shot dead by Jharkhand Police in encounter while ‘trying to escape custody'

Indian Express

4 days ago

Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Surya Hansda was shot dead by police in what they said was an encounter that broke out when he tried to escape while being taken from Deoghar to Godda following his arrest in connection with a firing incident.
Hansda's wife and mother have accused the police of carrying out a 'planned encounter' and have refused to accept his body.
The Godda police said Hansda was wanted in connection with a case filed last month under Lalmatia police station limits regarding a firing incident at the Paharpur area of ECL's Rajmahal Project. Police also alleged that he was involved in cases of setting trucks on fire at a crusher mill in Sahibganj.
Godda SP Mukesh Kumar said that after Hansda's arrest from Nawadih in Deoghar, he allegedly disclosed during interrogation that weapons had been hidden in the Jirli–Dhamni hills of Godda. 'While being taken there, his associates, who were lying in ambush, opened fire on the police. In the chaos, Hansda allegedly snatched a weapon from the police and tried to escape. Crossfire between the two sides lasted for around half an hour. In response, we shot him dead while he was attempting to flee. His body was taken into custody and sent to Godda Sadar Hospital for post-mortem,' Kumar said.
The SP said that Hansda had been involved in several other crimes, including an incident in which he allegedly broke the hand of a DSP who had gone to arrest him. 'We have followed the procedure mentioned in the NHRC guidelines. Only the report is awaited,' he said.
Hansda's mother, however, said he had been unwell and had undergone treatment in Vellore, after which he returned and was staying at a relative's house at Nawaadih in Mohanpur. 'From there, policemen in plain clothes came on a motorcycle and took him away. After that, he went missing, and we suspected something was wrong,' she said.
His wife, Sushila Murmu, said he had been bedridden. 'Earlier, during his arrest in a false case, we told the media that the police had already planned to kill him, but no one took it seriously. Police did not inform us about anything that was happening and did not allow us to see the body,' she said.
A resident of Dakaitha village in Godda, Hansda belonged to the Santhal Adivasi community and was earlier associated with the BJP. In the last Assembly elections, when the BJP fielded Lobin Hembrom from Borio, Hansda contested on a JLKM ticket but suffered a heavy defeat.
Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India.
Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions.
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