Johnson Ganju, prime accused in Chaibasa Jailbreak case, was lynched by villagers near Rongo Village under Manoharpur police station of West Singhbum. According to police, Ganju was thrashed to death on the intervening night of Friday and Thursday after he was caught creating problems by the villagers.
“The villagers beat up Johnson Ganju to death as he was allegedly demanding money from them,” said Chaibasa SP Michael S Raj. Ganju is also said to have had forcefully established illicit relation with a village girl infuriating the villagers resulting to his lynching, added the SP.
The local villagers of Rango attacked the rebel with sticks and other traditional weapons resulting to his death on the spot. A pistol and two live cartridges have been recovered from the possession of the rebel.
Ganju a self-proclaimed Area Commander of CPI (Maoist) had escaped from Chaibasa jail along with others in December, 2014. He was the senior most of the seven escaped who allegedly had Maoists links.
Two senior members of the CPI-Maoist had been killed and three others injured as the guards of jail opened fire on the inmates who were making an attempt to escape from there.
The SP said that Johnson Ganju was a resident of Hazaribagh but had been operating in Saranda forest.
According to local sources, Ganju was lynched by about 80 villagers, when he had come to meet a girl in the village which was opposed by the villagers. He was wanted in more than 30 Naxal related cases registered with the police stations in West Singhbum district and the adjoining districts.
“We are investigating the case… Johnson Ganju, wanted in connection with 38 cases, has been lynched by the people in Rango village around midnight,” said the SP. Probes are on whether the girl, Ganju had come to meet with, had any connection with the rebel outfit or not, the SP added.