RANCHI: A group of armed rebels on Monday night shot dead a clerk employed with a private company that is carrying out road construction work under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Chandwa police station area of
Latehar district
. Police later recovered the victim's body from an under-construction toilet.
The victim,
Sanjay Saw of Kita
village, was engaged as a clerk at a company that is building a road connecting Soons and Brahmani. On Monday night, four rebels came to the spot on bike and on foot and asked for the phone number of the contractor engaged in the work. When one Umesh Kumar, who was with Sanjay at that time, asked for their identity, the rebels started firing at them.
Umesh snatched a pistol from the rebels and ran away from the spot. The miscreants also fired at Sanjay who ran away from the spot and hid in a nearby toilet to save his life. The assailants, however, located him and fired several rounds from a close range.
Latehar SP Prakash Anand reached the spot soon after the incident. "Police are trying to verify the group involved in the crime. It could be either Tritya Prastuti Committee or the Sangarsh Jan Mukti Morcha. There is also a nexus between rebels and other criminals here. An operation has been launched in the area to nab the miscreants," the SP said.
Recently, Latehar police had arrested six criminals who were planning to commit two murders in the district. Police also recovered firearms from them.