Chatra Village Gunbattle: Two Former Maoist Cadres Killed, Rebel-Turned-Politician Injured

Chatra: A remote village in Chatra district was jolted by an intense gunbattle during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, in which two former cadres of the banned Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) were beaten to death, and two others, including a rebel-turned-politician, were injured. Police are probing whether the incident was the fallout of an internal rivalry, a gang war, or a targeted attack linked to an old enmity.The incident took place at Gendra village under the Kunda police station limits, a Maoist-hit area. The deceased were identified as Divendra Ganjhu and Churaman Ganjhu, both former members of the banned TSPC, a breakaway faction of the CPI (Maoist). Police said Divendra had over 30 criminal cases registered against him in different police stations. RJD leader Shyam Bhokta and his brother-in-law, Gopal Ganjhu, sustained bullet injuries during the firing and were initially taken to local hospitals at Pratappur and Daltonganj before being referred to Rims in Ranchi. Shyam sustained a bullet injury in the neck, while Gopal was shot in the head.A former TSPC cadre, Shyam is an accused in a terror-funding case that is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). According to villagers, around six armed assailants barged into Shyam’s house and opened indiscriminate fire. Family members and villagers allegedly retaliated, leading to a violent clash between the two sides. In between, two attackers were caught by villagers and beaten to death. SP Sumit Kumar Agrawal said, “We have identified the deceased and injured persons, and both have a history of rivalry dating back to their association with the TSPC. Prima facie, the firing appears to be the result of an old enmity.”