The Government-appointed two-member probe team on Friday for the first time admitted that child abduction was not the real reason for the lynching incidents at Rajnagar in Seraikela-Kharsawan and Bagbera in outskirts of city on May 18.
Kolhan commissioner Pradeep Kumar, who heads the two-member probe team the other member is DIG Kolhan Prabhat Kumar, said that the investigation is moving in right direction. However, rumours on child lifting was used an excuse to lynch the youths at both the places by vested interest groups with some hidden motives bent on disturbing peace of the society.
“ We cannot reveal much but we can say that the people with vested interests are behind it. We have recorded statements of victims and residents at the villages and also collected civil administration and police official statements on both the incidents. We will collect the information and then submit the report to the government tentatively in June first week,” said
The statement of the commissioner corroborates finding of that in both the cases rumours of child lifter was only a ploy to kill the youths by groups having other agendas in committing both the incidents .In the Nagadih incident on May 18 night three youths including two brothers Vikas and Gautam both from Jugsalai were lynched along with Gangesh Gupta of Bagbera by villagers, had found that land deal was the primary reason as a tribal group did not wanted outsiders to own lands. There have been reports that the villagers were against the any such move.
The probe team this afternoon visited Purulia Road and Dimna Road the two points in Mango which witnessed mob frenzy including stone pelting on May 20 morning.
“We have asked the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Amit Kumar to provide details from district land revenue unit on land transfers that have taken place in the Nagadih and nearby villages and the proportion of CNT land and CNT-free land available in the area,” he informed.
“We are also investigating into the reason for their visit to the village at such an unearthly hour (3 am). We are establishing links into the activity of the cattle trade in the minority dominated village in Shobhapur,” said the commissioner. A cattle trader was also called by the commissioner from Shobhapur this evening at Circuit House. Four Muslim cattle traders (three from Haldipokhar and one from Ghatshila, both in East Singhbhum district) were lynched by incensed mob on May 18 morning.