Two days on, no headway in tribal activist’s murder case

Ranchi: Even after 48 hours of retrieving the body of tribal activist Ramjiv Munda, who was vocal during the Pathalgarhi movement, from a forest in Khunti, police on Friday are still clueless about his killers.
Munda, 27, of Ghaghra village in Khunti district was attacked by unidentified people with sharp weapons on Wednesday evening while he was returning home from Sakedih, a nearby village, on his motorcycle with two others.
While his cousin was injured in the attack, the other escaped unhurt. Munda was a social activist who tried to help his fellow villagers when Pathalgarhi cases were lodged “indiscriminately” against them after a police crackdown in 2018. He was also a member of the fact-finding team of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) which went to Burugulikera village of West Singhbhum in February 2020 after an incident of mass killing linked to the movement.
Khunti SP Asutosh Shekhar said Munda had no criminal antecedent and no case was filed against him in the Pathalgarhi movement. “Though he belongs to Ghaghra, which was in the news for the Pathalgarhi movement, we have not found him associated with the cases filed,” he said.
On Friday, JJM demanded that the state government should ensure an independent and fair investigation into the murder and make the findings public.
JJM member Aloka Kujur said in June 2018, police and local administration officials beat up several Ghaghra villagers when they were planning a Pathalgarhi ceremony. Two of the villagers also received bullet injuries and one of them died. After the incident, Munda played an important role in highlighting police “atrocities”, Kujur said.
“Munda was deeply committed to protecting and strengthening Adivasi rights. He used to mobilise people for their socio-political rights,” Kujur added.
JJM also asked the government to ensure safety and livelihood of Munda’s wife and their seven-day-old daughter. “The government should talk to the traditional head of Ghaghra village and ensure the safety of the villagers who have already suffered a lot in the hands of political activists and local administration in the past,” Kujur said.