The Khunti police today announced Rs 50,000 reward on providing information about the three abducted policemen from the house of MP Kariya Munda. A notice issued by SP, Khunti Ashwini Kumar Sinha stated that there was no information on the whereabouts of the abducted cops and whoever gives their information will get a reward of Rs 50,000.
The three jawans Subodh Kujur, Vinod Kerketta and Suuyon Surin are still traceless despite continuous search operation conducted by police in the nearby areas. The security forces have surrounded the village where thousands of villagers and Patthalgadi supporters had gathered since June 26 but they are not able to get information of the abducted cops.
An official of the Khunti administration said that the villagers themselves are baffled and terrified with the presence of security personnel. They want the forces to return but on the contrary they are wary of giving any information about the hostages, he added.
Meanwhile, BJP delegation led by State General Secretary Deepak Prakash visited Khunti MP Kariya Munda house and the village Anigarha. “We had gone there to understand the ground realities. We met a number of villagers and found that many of the rural folks were being misguided by Patthalgadi supporters. The innocent youths are being forced to choose violent path on the instructions of people with vested interests,’ he said.
“We also met the family members of Shri kariya Munda. They looked fine but are worried over the hostage situation and are praying for the safe return of the security personnel,” he added. As many as 388 trainee Assistant Sub Inspectors from Police Training Centre Hazaribagh have been deputed at Khunti alongwith over a thousand security men by State Police citing the law and order problems there. Earlier on June 27, police had to resort to lathi charge and firing in air to disperse a protesting mob of over a thousand Patthalgadi supporters near Ghaghra village in Khunti. More than 200 villagers were detained and were taken to Khunti camp jail during the day. A villager also died during treatment in Khunti on Wednesday. The man is said to have been seriously injured during the police action and stampede when the police resorted to lathi charge at Ghaghra village.