Former minister Ekka arrested for murder
Ekka, against whom charges of corruption are pending, has nominated his wife Menon for the Simdega seat.
Ekka, against whom charges of corruption and money laundering too are pending, has nominated his wife Menon for the Simdega seat.
A minister in the erstwhile Madhu Koda cabinet, Anosh Ekka, also a sitting legislator recontesting from Kolebira, was arrested Thursday by Simdega police after being accused of using the banned PLFI to murder a para-teacher. Ekka, who now heads the Jharkhand Party, has been sent to judicial custody for 15 days.
The body of Manoj Kumar, who taught at Upgraded Middle School, Jatatand, was found in the woods near the school on Thursday morning. Ekka has been named the prime accused. “Manoj Kumar was also a leader of para-teachers. He used to be a supporter of Ekka during the last assembly elections, but turned against him,” said Rajeev Ranjan Singh, Simdega SP.
A senior police officer said he was getting congratulatory calls for managing to arrest Ekka. “Ekka had threatened to kill Kumar if he did not support him. Kumar was kidnapped on Wednesday by a group of armed men,” said SP Singh. “We have evidence connecting Ekka to the PLFI and will present it in court. We suspect the murder was committed by area commander Vikram Gope.”
Ekka was accused by his opponents earlier this year of taking PLFI support to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Khunti. The PLFI had not let anyone else campaign in its areas of influence; AAP candidate Dayamani Barla even complained about her supporters being assaulted twice.
Ekka, against whom charges of corruption and money laundering too are pending, has nominated his wife Menon for the Simdega seat. Earlier this year, the Enforcement Directorate had attached properties valued at Rs 100 crore belonging to Ekka.
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