Dreaded Naxal Somra Hansda who was nabbed Tuesday night from a village at rebel-infested Chowka in the adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district last night has confessed that he was in close association with dreaded rebel Kundan Pahan and received training from him.
After successfully carrying out the Seraikela jail-break in August 2011, Somra had come close to Pahan. Seraikela-Kharsawan superintendent of police Inderjeet Mahatha said addressing the media at Seraikela on Wednesday. After fleeing from the Seraikela jail, Somra, David and Bablu Bagti had gone to meet Pahan at Khunti district. Pahan had made Somra to undergo a special guerrilla training there and had revealed about his plan to set up a strong militia company at Chowka’s Hesakocha jungle.
During the arrest, the police and para-military CRPF recovered a .315 pistol, four live cartridges, a powerful hand grenade and four pieces of detonatoig the bomb. Mahatha said that Somra was wanted in as many as 30 cases registered with the various police stations in and around the Seraikela-Kharsawan and adjoining East Singhbhum district. The state government had declared a reward of Rs 40 lakh on the head of the rebel.
The SP said during the interrogation, Somra confessed that the then assistant jailer of Seraikela-divisional jail had a role behind the jail-break. “He has informed us that the assistant jailer, Uma Shankar Prasad had taken money from the another inmate David for making the jail-break,” Mahatha quoted Somra as saying. Area commander of the Kundan Pahan squad of banned Naxal outfit CPI-Maoist, Somra along with his another Naxal aide David and four other criminals Ravi Singh Munda (later killed in a police encounter in Adityapur), Ganesh Pramanik, Bablu Bagti (both still absconding) and Rakhal Kandium (re-arrested) had ran away from Saraikela jail on August 17, 2011 by overpowering the security personnel on gun point in a dramatic manner. He was wanted in the murder of two local Congress Party leaders Mukund Singh and Dushasan Mahato and the killing of CRPF sub inspector Chandrashekhar Reddy who died during a landmine blast.