To intimidate mining companies, Maoists set truck ablaze in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh

Indian Express

5 days ago

Armed members of the banned Maoist outfit Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) intercepted and set ablaze a mining truck in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district Sunday evening, in what police believe was a deliberate attempt to intimidate mining companies. They also fired indiscriminately and left a threat letter targeting major mining companies.
Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee is a banned outfit that is splinter group of the erstwhile Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) – a Maoist outfit that fused with the People's War Group in September 2004 to make the present-day Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The incident occurred around 8:20 pm near a site operated by BGR Company, where two Scania trucks were engaged in dumping operations. According to the police, 4-5 armed men approached the vehicles, forced drivers to get down, and roughed up a driver who resisted and eventually fired indiscriminately.
The driver who was roughed up allegedly sustained minor injuries to his neck.
Vicky Thakur, Pagar Outpost incharge under Keredari police station, said: 'After dousing the vehicle with petrol and setting it ablaze, the insurgents left behind a pamphlet in the name of one Kaushal ji, identifying themselves as TSPC members. The letter warned all mining lease holders, including DO holder mines and outsourced mining operators, to initiate dialogue with the group or face 'serious consequences'.
'They've named NTPC, CCL, L&T, and others in the pamphlet and said operations without prior negotiation would invite action. It's mostly addressed to operators of outsourced mines, although regular work continues,' he said.
The pamphlet allegedly invoked Marxist ideology and challenged the legitimacy of police presence, stating that law enforcement does not exist for the interests of corporations and that 'criminal action' would follow any attempt to bypass the group's conditions.
Security has since been intensified in the area, and police have launched a probe to identify and apprehend those involved. 'A formal report has been filed, and patrolling around key mining zones has been increased,' Thakur said.
The injured driver, identified as Gautam Dubey, is associated with the mining vehicle operations and is currently stable.
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.
You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More