Naxalites behead 50 year-old, keep head on road

Jamshedpur: In a shocking incident, suspected Naxalites beheaded a 50-year-old man, identified as Jagran Manjhi in Hesakocha village under Chowka police station area in Chandil in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district late Saturday night.

After beheading the villager, the rebels pasted posters on his body to claim the responsibility of the killing. In the poster, the suspected Naxalites alleged that the deceased was an informer of the police and that he worked as a special police officer (SPO).

The circle inspector of Chandil Arvind Kumar Singh said the victim was the president of Palna Dam Fishery Co-operative Society and had a fight with a Maoist in Hesakocha village two days ago.

Sources said the incident took place late night when a group of Naxalites forcibly took Manjhi along after barging into his house around 9 pm. The Naxalites, 10 to 12 in number, asked Budhni Manjhi, wife of the deceased, to give them water to drink.

As the house lady went in to bring water, the culprits caught his husband and dragged him out of the house. Several villagers resisted their move, but were threatened away. Some of them were also assaulted by the armed Naxalites.
The body of the victim was found near a school building this morning.

The throat of the deceased was slit open with sharp weapons and the head was taken away by the killers. The head was later found in the middle of a village road, sources said.

The police have recovered the body and sent it to the Seraikela referral hospital for post-mortem examination.

Shocked by the incident, the villagers held a meeting in the morning with the local panchayat committee members and police officials and demanded protection for their family members.

They said a CRPF camp was established in the village several years back. But later the camp was removed. Had the camp been there, the incident could have been prevented, they said.