JMM leader hacked to death in Palamu over land dispute, accused absconding

Palamu (Jharkhand): Jharkhand Mutti Morcha leader Munna Sinha was brutally murdered with sharp-edged weapons on Tuesday morning in Dandar village, under Panki block of Jharkhand’s Palamu district, officials said.

According to police, the incident occurred when Sinha was ploughing his field with a tractor near his residence.

During this time, Arun Thakur, Doman Thakur, and several members of their family arrived at the spot and confronted him over a long-standing land dispute.

The altercation soon turned violent, and the accused allegedly attacked Sinha with sickles and other sharp weapons, inflicting fatal injuries.

Locals rushed the grievously injured Munna Sinha to Medinirai Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) in Daltonganj, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Doctors said Sinha had sustained deep wounds on his head and neck due to repeated blows from sharp weapons.

Following the incident, all the accused fled the village. Police teams have launched a manhunt, conducting raids at multiple locations to trace and arrest them.

Rajesh Ranjan, officer-in-charge of Panki police station, said, “Preliminary investigations suggest the murder was the result of a land dispute. All the accused are absconding, and efforts are underway to apprehend them.

The body has been sent to MMCH for post-mortem examination.

News of the murder triggered outrage in the area, with a large number of JMM workers and leaders gathering at the hospital and demanding swift action.

JMM district president Rajendra Kumar Sinha, alias Guddu Sinha, condemned the killing and alleged a political conspiracy behind the incident.

“Munna Sinha was a dedicated party worker. His murder is not just a result of a land dispute but appears to be politically motivated. We demand the immediate arrest of all the culprits,” he said.

Villagers said Sinha had been involved in a long-running dispute with the Thakur family over a plot of agricultural land. The 42-year-old leader was the only son of his parents and had served as the JMM block president of Panki for the past eight years.

–IANS