Who is Sunil Tiwary, for whom Babulal Marandi has again sought security citing ‘death threats’

His journalistic career — he was a freelance reporter and photographer across publications in Jharkhand for 25 years —- also brought him under the spotlight multiple times. Tiwary’s journalistic career has been marked with a few run-ins with the Soren family.

In 2004, he wrote about a pending warrant against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren, the father of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, pertaining to the Chirudih massacre in Jamtara, where 11 people were killed by a mob in 1975. Shibu Soren had to resign from his post as minister at the time and surrender to the Jamtara court. He was later acquitted for lack of evidence, but the moment is considered as an embarrassment in the senior leader’s political career.

The next big headline came in 2021. In 2020, Marandi merged his party, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), with the BJP. The contours of Jharkhand politics were changing and it was clear that Soren and Marandi would be battling it out in the state going forward.

In 2021, Tiwary became an intervenor — as a third party for expediting the legal process —- in a plea filed in the Bombay High Court for a CBI inquiry in an alleged rape case against Hemant Soren. Months later, Tiwary was booked in two cases including in an alleged rape case against a minor. He went into hiding and was later arrested.

Tiwary is the son of an Ayurvedic medical officer in the Santhal Pargana area of the state. In the 1980s, when the demands for a separate state were growing in south Bihar, a young Tiwary is said to have often seen “Guru ji” or Shibu Soren near his father’s clinic. A source said that Tiwary later became close to Shibu Soren’s elder son Durga Soren. A source close to him said that Tiwary was “responsible for helping Durga out in a case in which he was the prime accused”.

This was also the period that Marandi, then associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), was emerging as a leader in Santhal Pargana area. Tiwary, the source said, had a few interactions with Marandi. “The conversations had an impact on him. There was some sense of ideological connection too,” the source said.

By the time Marandi floated his own party in 2006, Tiwary had become so close to the leader that he was “aware” of all of the JVM(P)’s affairs.

“Tiwary played an important role in deciding the symbol of JVM(P), a comb, which he thought would make people associate themselves with the party. Around this time, he also wrote an article against Babulal ji’s working style. In those days, you could critique a politician. Babulal ji also took it in his stride. But by 2008, he quit journalism to become advisor to Marandi.”

A source within the Opposition ranks in the state said that after Tiwary quit journalism, he started investing in real estate and that today, his income comes mostly from rent. A source in the BJP said it was due to Tiwary’s influence that Marandi eventually agreed to get back to the BJP and merge his party with it in 2020. “Tiwary’s view was that JVM(P) did not have the wherewithal to fight the elections anymore. It was in Marandi’s favour that he joined BJP at a time when the party was vigorously looking for a tribal face.”

However, the BJP source said that Tiwary “never meddles with the party’s affairs”. “But due to his closeness with Marandi, other leaders also want to keep him in good humour,” he said.

Another leader who is close to both Marandi and Tiwary said: “Marandi values what Tiwary has to say. Most of the time he pays heed to it.” The leader said that the August press conference by Marandi — where he alleged that the Soren family had grabbed land from people belonging to the tribal communities — was based on Tiwary’s findings. “Tiwary has now become a nuisance to Hemant Soren,” said the leader.

A source in the government said that Tiwary was previously provided police security due to threat assessments. “However, it was withdrawn later. He is just trying to create some problems for the government. Sometimes it seems that Tiwary wants to be in the limelight,” the source added.