Former Maoist Kundan Pahan, jailed for killing Janata Dal (United) MLA from Tamar Ramesh Singh Munda, on Monday filed his nomination papers from Tamar (Scheduled Tribes) seat as an independent candidate.
Clad in white shirt and black trouser with grey bandi, Pahan reached the Bundu sub-divisional office in police protection from Hazaribagh Open Jail. Handcuffed Pahan greeted his supporters with folded hands and was taken to SDO office in police protection. Pahan, facing over 100 cases including that of murder of senior police officers and carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head had surrendered before the police in 2017.
Pahan was earlier to file his nomination as Jharkhand Party (JP) candidate, but in the last hour the party rejected his candidature. Sources said that the Jharkhand Party took the decision at the last hour as party chief and former minister Enosh Ekka decided to cancel the official candidature of Pahan, after Jharkhand Party (JP) candidate from Simdega and former IPS officer Rezi Dungdung expressed his dissatisfaction over naming Pahan as party candidate.
Dungdung, the former ADG (Wireless) who took his VRS last month announced to contest election. Dungdung had even knocked the door of BJP to contest election from Simdega, but the saffron party at the last hour announced the candidature of Shraddhanand Besra from the seat. Pahan, jailed for killing former MLA Ramesh Singh Munda last week sought permission from NIA court to contest the Assembly election. The court later granted him the permission.
Former JDU MLA from Tamar, Ramesh Singh Munda in 2008 was addressing a function at SS High School, Bundu when he was killed. In September this year, Pahan was shifted from Birsa Munda Central Jail in Hotwar to Hazaribagh Open Jail.
Sources said that in due course of investigation name of former MLA from Tamar Gopal Krishna Patar alias Raja Peter also came to fore. On October 2017, the NIA arrested Peter in connection with the murder of rival MLA Ramesh Munda. It was alleged that Raja Peter had paid Rs 4 crore to Naxalites to eliminate Ramesh Singh Munda.
Interestingly, Raja Peter too is contesting election as independent candidate from Tamar. Peter had a tale of rise and fall as he hogged limelight in State political circles after he defeated JMM supremo Shibu Soren in 2009 by-election after the death of Ramesh Singh Munda. Apart from Pahan and Raja Peter, the Tamar seat too is going to witness triangular contest as Vikas Munda sitting MLA and son of Ramesh Singh Munda is also in electoral fray. In last Assembly election he contested and won of AJSU party ticket, but on October this year he joined JMM.
The Tamar Assembly constituency which comes under Ranchi district and Khunti parliamentary constituency will go to poll in the second phase of election scheduled on December 7.