Two more persons have been arrested in connection with the killing of former Pakur SP Amarjeet Balihar and four others, including his driver during a landmine blast in the jungles of Kathiukund, some 40 kms from Dumka.
Both the accused persons have been identified as Manvel Murmu, hailing from Chandher and Gandhar village under Kathikund police station.
“We have arrested two persons, both have been identified as Marvel Murmu while they were roaming in the Kathikund market on Monday morning,” said Inspector of Kathikund Police Station Naster Kerketta.
According to Kerketta, both are common villagers who have admitted their involvement in the killing of the then Pakur SP.
Dumka IG Umesh Kumar Singh said that with the arrest of these two persons, total count of arrested persons in this connection rises to five. “Both the arrested persons have warrants against them in the case,” said the IG. They have been charged of their role in the attack.
Three persons are already in the police net in this connection. One Sanatan Baski was arrested from Rola village of Pakur and Satan Besra was arrested from Pokharia village in Dumka on July 9. Police had seized a laptop along with the weapons from Baski.
Besra, allegedly acted as a whistler to alert the rebels as his vehicle approached the spot, was on bail after he was arrested in connection with a Maoist-related violence.
The rebels ambushed the then Pakur SP Amarjeet Balihar’s cavalcade after triggering a landmine and fired indiscriminately on it at the Kathikund jungles in perhaps the first major extremist-related attack in Santhal Pargana.
Balihar along with his driver and three of his bodyguards was killed in a Maoist attack in Pakur district on July 2, last year while he was on way back to Pakur from Dumka after attending a meeting called by the Santhal Pargana DIG
Priya Dubey.
Besides Balihar, his driver Ashok Srivastav and body guards Chandan Kumar Thapa, Manoj Kumar Hembrom and Rajeev Kumar Sharma were among the deceased.