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Journalism of Courage
A court in Jamtara on Thursday acquitted Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief and MP Shibu Soren and 13 others in the 1975 Chirrudih massacre case in which 11 persons were killed and 18 houses set ablaze. However, seven others were found guilty under various sections.
Jamtara District Sessions Court Judge Arun Kumar has set March 12 as the date for awarding the sentence to Jaidev Tuddu, Nathnial Hembrom, Ghagru Pandit, Md Khalil, Satnarayan Potola, Sikander Mian and Jai Kumar Sen who were convicted on Thursday.
“We had never doubted his innocence. But we are very happy now that the court has acquitted him,” said Soren’s son Hemant.
Chief Minister Madhu Koda too welcomed the acquittal saying it was expected.
There was heavy police deployment on the court premises, fearing violence by JMM workers if Soren was found guilty. However, with their party chief acquitted, the JMM workers dispersed peacefully after congratulating Soren.
Chirrudih is surrounded by a dozen villages inhabited by Santhals, the tribe to which Soren belongs. Two days before the massacre took place on January 23,1975, Soren was reportedly assaulted by some unidentified residents of the village. In retaliation, Soren, along with armed supporters, allegedly attacked Chirrudih. Soren was then leading a movement under the banner of ‘Dikku Bhagao Abhiyan’ (oust outsiders campaign).
According to the chargesheet, minutes before the attack, villagers led by Trelokya Narayan Singh, the younger brother of the erstwhile landlord of the neighbouring Narayanpur estate, stood guard at the village gates. “When Soren’s men advanced, one of Singh’s men opened fire. The bullet hit one Lokhendra of Soren’s group,” says the chargesheet. This was followed by a pitched battle which left 11 people dead. Among the victims were nine Muslim residents of Chirrudih, Singh and Lokhendra.
“He (Soren) was our leader… He led us..,” Lokhendra stated in his dying declaration recorded in the presence of a magistrate. But as the statement did not prove Soren’s complicity in the crime and all 18 prosecution witnesses, except Investigating Officer I C Mitra, turned hostile, Judge Kumar found it fit to give Soren the benefit of doubt.
Judge Kumar also reserved the verdict of another accused, Vakil Hembrom, who failed to appear in court on Thursday.
Factsheet
• January 23,1975: 11 persons killed, 18 houses torched in Chirrudih village.
• December 6, 1986: Chargesheet filed against 69 accused.
• July 19, 2004: Arrest warrant issued against Soren by Jamtara Sub Divisional Magistrate U N Mishra.
• February 5, 2005: As many as 48 of the accused were identified as either ‘dead’ or missing. The trial of the remaining 21 accused initiated.
