Jharkhand: Naxals open fire on village meeting, three dead

Khunti, Jharkhand: Three villagers were killed and four others seriously injured when activists of ultra Left outfit People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) opened indiscriminate fire on a gram sabha meeting at Raitodand in Naxal-hit Khunti district of Jharkhand, police said on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_2729288” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The villagers had assembled to discuss village-related issues on Sunday afternoon when about two dozen PLFI activists with firearms arrived on the spot and opened fire indiscriminately, DIG (Ranchi) RK Dhan, who along the Superintendent of Police Anish Gupta went to the spot on Monday night, said. The injured were rushed to Sadar Hospital, Khunti, from where doctors referred them to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi. The police suspect that the PLFI presumed the meeting was part of “peace meetings against ultra activities” being held across the district. The victims have been identified as Sukhram Munda (50), Rokan Purty (60) and Deet Munda (45). A villager, Ghansiram Purty, was reported missing following the incident, the SP said. Police personnel were rushed to the spot to track the culprits. Jharkhand DGP DK Pandey was likely to visit the spot later in the day.