Surya Hansda encounter: BJP demands CBI probe, Munda seeks second post-mortem under retired judge

The alleged encounter of Surya Hansda in Godda has escalated into a major political confrontation in Jharkhand, with BJP leaders intensifying their demand for a CBI probe and a second post-mortem under judicial supervision.

Hansda, who was picked up by police on 11 August from his maternal uncle’s house in Navadih village, Deoghar, was later reported killed in an encounter in the Boarijor area of Godda. His family alleges he was bedridden due to illness and arrested without any court warrant. They insist he was shot in a staged encounter for speaking out against local coal company practices and for running a free residential school for tribal children.

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Godda SP Mukesh Kumar maintains Hansda was a wanted criminal facing 25 cases, including murder, extortion and attacks on police. He said Hansda guided police to the Dhamni forest, where his associates opened fire. According to the SP, Hansda tried to escape custody by snatching an INSAS rifle and firing at the police, prompting retaliation that killed him. Arms and ammunition were allegedly recovered from the spot.

Former chief minister Arjun Munda, who led a BJP delegation to Hansda’s home in Lalmatia, called the encounter “fabricated.” Speaking to reporters, he asked, “If there was no court warrant, how was he arrested?” Munda demanded a second post-mortem under the supervision of a retired judge and a probe by an independent agency. He described Hansda as a voice of the poor and said his free school for underprivileged children showed his commitment to society. “The government silenced him through a fake encounter,” he alleged.

State BJP president Babulal Marandi has already termed Hansda’s death “murder” and said a CID inquiry cannot be trusted. He has called for either a CBI investigation or a probe by a sitting judge. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash has written to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, calling the killing an attack on tribal identity and human rights.

Dumri MLA and JLKM leader Jairam Mahato, who also met the family, said Hansda was “a rebel, not a criminal,” and linked his death to resistance against coal companies, likening them to the East India Company.

The BJP has constituted a seven-member fact-finding team under Munda, which met Hansda’s mother and relatives to gather details. The party says it will pursue the matter until justice is delivered.

The encounter, and the conflicting versions around it, have turned into a flashpoint in Jharkhand politics. With the opposition pressing for a CBI probe and the government standing by the police account, the controversy is expected to deepen in the weeks ahead.