Four people working at a road construction site were shot dead by suspected People’s liberation Front of India (PlFI) carders at Sukurdda village under Basia police station of Gumla, around 130 km from the state headquarters Ranchi. The project started in 2009, but construction was on hold, only to be resumed some 20 days back.
“Prima facie it appears to be a handiwork of PlFI cadres,” said Jharkhand Police Spokesperson and ADG (Operations) SN Pradhan. Investigation however, has been ordered in this regard, he added.
According to locals, over a dozen rebels reportedly reached the village at around 11 am and shot the labourers, killing four of them including a supervisor. The four have been identified as supervisor Rampati Kumar of Bhabhua in Bihar, labourers Shiv Kumar Sahu, Ajay Topno and lalit Sahu hailing from the nearby villages in the area.
DGP DK Pandey, ADG Operations along with other top officials rushed to the spot immediately after the incident. Demand of levy from the construction company involved in the project could not be denied, said the police.
PlFI cadres alleged that the four dead persons belonged to Pahari Cheetah Group which is quite active in the area and were involved in collecting levy, raping and women’s trafficking.
Construction under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was being carried out in association with the National Projects Construction limited through Bihar based Kenari constructions.