A Ranchi Court on Friday acquitted Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MlA Chamra linda in a domicile related case registered on July 24, 2002 where he along with eight others, was booked for ransacking on streets, setting ablaze vehicles, looting shops and disseminating riots among the people. He was set free by the court on the ground of no substantial evidence available against him. linda is MlA from Bishunpur in Gumla.
“The court of Additional Judicial Commissioner SS Prasad today acquitted Chamra linda and eight other accused persons in a domicile related case (143/02) registered against them way back in 2002. The Court acquitted linda and others as no substantial evidence was found against them in the case,” said linda’s advocate Shambhu Agrawal. Out of several eyewitnesses, three of them recorded their statements before the Court but, all the three later turned hostile, he added.
According to Agrawal, a bandh was called against the domicile policy for the state where, a huge crowd gathered at Adarsha Nagar near Jagannathpur in Dhurwa, which later ransacked several shops and vehicles creating huge losses to the people and the government. Five persons died during the clashes which sparked off among different groups of people.
“According to police, the crowd also put obstruction in government work. Since, Chamra linda was President of Jharkhand Student’s Union, his name was also included in the case along with eight others,” said another advocate Mukesh Kumar.
Eight other accused persons are-Prem Prakash Nath Pandey, Shankar Tirkey, Amit Singh alias Rajesh Kumar Singh, Keshav Tirkey, Pramod Kumar alias Dhobi, Raja alias Rajkumar Thakur, Kumod Singh and Buddhi Sagar Tirkey. The matter was registered at the then Hatia Police Station which is now known as Dhurwa Police Station.
The then Chief Minister, Babulal Marandi, now leading JVM (P), had, in 2002, decided to implement the domicile policy on the basis of land records of 1932, which led to Tribal and non-Tribal coming face-to-face in many agitations across the state.
The move also caused a stir, sparking widespread protests across Jharkhand. At least seven people were killed in clashes between pro- and anti-domicile protests.
Marandi Government had in 2001 devised a policy stating that only those residents of the state were to be considered domiciles whose ancestors’ names figure in land records.
Raghubar Das cabinet, however, on April 7 this year, finally succeeded in defining the eligibility for getting domicile in Jharkhand.