Ranchi, September 5: The alleged encounter of Surya Hansda in Godda district has taken a fresh twist as his wife Sushila and mother Neelmani Murmu on Thursday approached the Jharkhand High Court, seeking an investigation by an independent agency into his death.
Surya Hansda was gunned down on August 11 in what police claim was an encounter. According to the police version, he was arrested from Navadih village in Deoghar on August 10. The next day, he was being taken to Rahabadiya hills to recover hidden weapons when he allegedly snatched a rifle from the police and opened fire while trying to escape. In retaliatory firing, he was killed.
However, Hansda’s mother Neelmani has alleged that the encounter was nothing but a staged conspiracy. The petition filed in the High Court has named the state’s Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, DGP, and SPs of Deoghar and Godda, along with several police officers, as respondents.
The case has also triggered a sharp political face-off. While ruling JMM has branded Hansda a dreaded criminal, the opposition BJP has come out in his support and demanded a CBI probe. BJP leader and former Union Minister Arjun Munda had earlier, termed the alleged encounter of Surya Hansda a “carefully orchestrated conspiracy” and demanded a CBI investigation, while AJSU chief and former Deputy CM Sudesh Mahto questioned the police version, saying people have “little trust in the official story” and sought a fair probe.
Hansda, who had contested Assembly elections multiple times, was also active in local politics. Several criminal cases were pending against him. Senior BJP leader and former CM Babulal Marandi had pointed out that although cases were registered against Hansda in the past, he was acquitted in most of them. “Surya Hansda has never been convicted in any case. Only a court can declare someone guilty, not ministers or public representatives,” Marandi had said.
