Dheeraj Dubey, a central spokesperson for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and a close confidant of former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, is facing charges along with four others. They are accused of assaulting and indecently assaulting a woman, as well as stealing her gold necklace at gunpoint.
The victim, Asha Devi, lodged a formal complaint at the Ranka Police Station on Friday evening. In her statement, Asha Devi reported that on Thursday evening, Saurabh Pandey, a Ranka resident, came to her grocery shop while intoxicated and requested cigarettes. As she served him, he allegedly began throwing items from the counter. When she objected, he reportedly began verbally abusing and physically attacking her. Hearing the disturbance, Saurabh Pandey's son, Raja Pandey, JMM spokesperson Dheeraj Dubey, Saurabh's brother-in-law Jitendra Dubey, along with 30 unidentified individuals, arrived at the shop and allegedly launched an attack.
It is alleged that Dheeraj Dubey and Jitendra Dubey brandished weapons, verbally abused Asha Devi, and attempted to strangle her. During the incident, her gold necklace was reportedly snatched. She was allegedly subjected to further physical assault when people intervened after hearing the commotion.
In a counter-complaint, Saurabh Pandey also filed a report at the police station, alleging that while travelling towards Garhwa near Garh Phatak, he encountered a traffic congestion. Upon protesting, Pawan Pandey, Kamal Pandey, and Ranjan Pandey allegedly dragged him from his vehicle, assaulted him, and attempted to murder him. He claims that his left arm was fractured, his mobile phone was destroyed, and his gold necklace was stolen during the assault.
Police Station In-charge Chetan Kumar Singh confirmed that a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered and an investigation has commenced into the matter.
