KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Jan 24: West Singhbhum district administration on Monday carried out a flag march in district headquarters Chaibasa and adjoining Chaibasa Muffasil thana area after witnessing an ugly scene between the police and a section of local villagers over attempt of setting up a separate Kolhan estate.
In a violent act by about 200 agitated separate Kolhan estate protagonists at Chaibasa Muffasil thana, seven police men, including Muffasil thana OC were injured. About a dozen attackers have also sustained injuries in the retaliatory step by the police.
One of the injured constables, Brijmohan Mishra, who has sustained arrow injury has been admitted to Tata Main Hospital.
The trouble cropped up when the police prevented a process of recruiting police personnel and teachers for the alleged separate Kolhan estate. The recruitment drive was going on the premises of a school at Ladurabasa village under the Muffasil thana area on Sunday.
The police had disrupted the recruitment process and had arrested four out of about 50 candidates aspiring for the fake jobs. Hours after the four candidates were brought from the recruitment venue to the Muffasil thana, over 200 people came to the police station, demanding the release of those arrested.
On being driven out by the police, the mob of villagers who were armed with bows and arrows and other traditional weapons swooped over the police station. They shot arrows targeting the police men and also hurled stones. The police had subsequently resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the belligerent mob, resulting in injuries to some of the protestors.
According to sources, the supporters of the separate Kolhan estate have started the recruitment process for police personnel and teachers since August 2021 and had even placed advertisements for this all in the newspapers, but the local administration had not reacted to such unlawful activities.
According to the sources, a handful of men, including a CRPF jawan, identified as Ajay Pariar, had the hand behind the alleged recruitment drive for the separate Kolhan estate.
West Singhbhum’s SP Ajay Linda said the police have arrested all 17 persons, including Ajay Pariar in connection to the Sunday’s violence.
“We carried out a flag march in Chaibasa and its adjoining areas while searching for some more people involved in yesterday’s violence. The mastermind of the attempted fake recruitment drive, Ajay Pariar has already been arrested, ” said Linda.
The SP said Pariar who is a CRPF jawan was posted at Latehar district and was absent from his duty since November.
Significantly, the attempt for a separate Kolhan estate is nothing new.
According to knowledgeable sources, the attempt for the separate Kolhan estate is based on the notion of Wilkinson Rules set up during the British era. As per the Wilkinson Rules which should have been abolished during the making of the Constitution of India, people of the tribal-dominated Kolhan comprising the twin districts of Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan was to be ruled by means of Mankis and Mundas only. A few elements in the tribal community in Kolhan used to give significance to the age-old notion and intermittently raised the demand for a separate Kolhan estate.
