Row over Naxalite suspect arrest

Jamshedpur, Sept. 10: Hundreds of villagers in Dumkacocha near Galudih tried to make a youth free as the suspected rebel had been held for interrogation in a police picket this afternoon.

Having picked up Sunil Singh, the youth, during a raid on the village bordering Bengal in Ghatshila sub-division, the police kept him in nearby Narsingpur picket for interrogation. But within minutes, 500 villagers surrounded the outpost and tried to set him free. The protesters, including a large number of women, not only tried to set him free but also attempted to loot firearms from the police.

But the presence of East Singhbhum superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh helped the police thwart the mob attack.

Later, Sunil was interrogated and made him divulge vital information about the Naxalite movement on the Jharkhand-Bengal border and also related to the Burudih landmine blast on August 29.

Sources said the police had the information that Sunil had a role to play behind the landmine blast that claimed the lives of 11 police personnel. Sunil had earlier also been arrested in connection with JMM MP Sunil Mahto last year and was released on bail.

Singh said he met the protesters, who complained of the absence of basic facilities in the village.

Singh also convinced the frenzied villagers that the government was trying to provide basic amenities like road, tubewell, schools and medical care to the people.