The Jharkhand BJP on Thursday staged demonstrations across all 264 blocks of the state demanding a CBI probe into the alleged “fake encounter” of tribal leader and social worker Surya Hansda and protesting against the state government’s move to acquire raiyat (farmer-owned) land in Nagri for the proposed RIMS-2 hospital project.
In Ranchi, the protest march, led by Leader of Opposition and State BJP president Babulal Marandi, began from Shaheed Chowk and culminated at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, where a memorandum addressed to the Governor was submitted. Similar rallies and sit-ins were held in Pakur, Jamtara, and other districts.
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Marandi, addressing a gathering in Ranchi, accused the Hemant Soren government of shielding middlemen and mining mafias. He said Hansda, a four-time independent candidate and a teacher of over 300 poor children, was murdered for opposing illegal mining. “The so-called encounter is nothing but a state-sponsored killing. If the government has nothing to hide, it should hand over the case to the CBI. Justice cannot be expected from the CID investigating its own police force,” he said.
Marandi also charged the government with forcibly acquiring cultivable land for RIMS-2 despite resistance from raiyats. “Even the erstwhile Bihar government had assured raiyats their land would not be taken. Yet, this government is bent on snatching their fields. The BJP stands firmly with the raiyats,” he declared.
Former Chief Minister Raghubar Das, leading the protest in Kanke block, questioned the police version of Hansda’s death. “The police claimed 40-50 people attacked them, yet only Hansda was shot dead and no one else was identified. Is this not proof of a fake encounter?” he asked. Das further alleged that the government was motivated by “commission deals” in pushing RIMS-2 on farmland. “Hospitals should be built, but not on fertile fields. This symbolic agitation is a warning. If the government does not step back, people will rise in a bigger movement,” he said.
In Pakur, district BJP president Amrit Pandey led a rally from Rath Mela ground to the old Sadar hospital, accusing the Soren government of “suppressing dissent and acting against provisions meant to protect tribal rights.” He alleged Hansda was killed because he spoke against illegal mining and transport. “The government is trying to grab raiyat land in Nagri just as Bihar once attempted. This is injustice to the tribals,” he said.
At Jamtara, former minister Amar Bauri termed the government “anti-tribal” and reiterated the demand for a CBI inquiry. “The same government that sought votes in the name of jal, jungle, and jameen is now betraying the very tribals it claims to protect. The acquisition of raiyat land for RIMS-2 is betrayal,” he said. Bauri also raised questions over the non-implementation of the PESA Act in Jharkhand and accused the government of insulting Sarna dharam and the legacy of Sidho-Kanhu.
Senior BJP leaders including Union Minister Annapurna Devi, former CM Champai Soren, former State president Deepak Prakash, MPs Aditya Sahu and C.P. Singh, and several state functionaries participated in the protests across districts.
Hansda, a resident of Lalmatia village in Godda district’s Boarijor block, was killed on August 10 in what the police described as an encounter. His family has since claimed it was a “targeted killing” and petitioned for a CBI probe. The issue has snowballed into a major flashpoint between the Opposition BJP and the JMM-led government.
The BJP, which had earlier raised both issues in the Assembly, has now shifted the battle to the streets. Thursday’s demonstrations, which saw thousands of party workers mobilised, were billed as a warning to the state government. “If the Hemant government is clean, it should order a CBI probe and return raiyat land,” Marandi said.
With the Hansda encounter continuing to stir tribal sentiments and the RIMS-2 project facing resistance, the confrontation between the BJP and the Soren government appears set to intensify in the coming weeks.
