Rural Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda on Saturday visited Simdega to pay homage to the slain BJP leader Manoj Nagesia and to console his family.
Munda accompanied by BJP State general secretary Deepak Prakash and MlA Ram Kumar Pahan assured Nagesia’s widow all kinds of support for education of two children, including monetary assistance of Rs 2 lakh from Government and the party.
On the other hand, Maoist outfit PlFI has taken responsibility of the killing, alleging that the Maoist turned BJP leader had become a grave threat to the organisation as a police informer.
The police, however, has remained empty handed as far as nabbing the murderer of Maoist-turned-BJP leader or his accomplice if any is concerned even after Chief Minister Raghubar Das ordering earliest arrests of those involved in Nagesia’s murder on Friday.
Simdega SP Rajeev Ranjan Singh said on Saturday that the police were investigating the matter from every aspect, including political rivalry, pre-political life of Manoj Nagesia as a Maoist Commander or any other instant reason.
But police seems to have sensed political rivalry a more suitable and reasonable factor than any other behind this ‘planned’ murder.
“The way this murder took place doesn’t match with the modus operandi of killings in this area. It was a pre-planned murder, prima facie by a single shot domestic made gun. Moreover, we have observed that the curtain boundary between assailant and the slain leader kept torn exactly where Nagesia sat to take some food after he visited a cultural programme in Kolebira area. So, I personally believe that there must be political reason behind this killing.
However, we are investing on all possible reasons,” said Kolebira Police Station Incharge where the incident took place.
Maoist outfit Peoples liberation Front of India (PlFI) Area Commander Vijay Tiger on Saturday took responsibility of Manoj Nagesia’s killing, saying that the slain leader had emerged as one of the greatest threats to the organisation locally as a police informer.
He accused Nagesia of not only providing secret information to the police about activities of the organisation, but had also threatened one of the Commanders of life within six months.
Tiger added that the bodyguard of slain BJP leader was next target of the organisation. Notably, Nagesia happened to be an Area Commander of Maoist outfit. He had joined BJP in 2013 after the Court had dismissed charges against him.
The SP, however, said that the police were on the job to nab the murderer(s) first. “We are not in a position to say anything at this point of time as we don’t have any clue as of now. But investigation is on from all possible angles ranging from personal rivalry to the political and others,” added Singh.
Notably, State Treasurer of the BJP State Scheduled Tribes Morcha Manoj Nagesia who is survived by his wife and two children, one son (6) and one daughter (12), was murdered on Friday evening under Kolebira police station area where he was visiting a
cultural programme in the village of Padmashree Mukund Nayak.
He was said to be having some refreshments when he was shot at from almost point blank range from other side of curtain boundary covering dining area in which Nagesia was offered a chair to sit. He was rushed to a local hospital, but couldn’t survive.