Maoists conduct a kangaroo court at Thathan Bujurg village in Vaishali on Friday. Picture by Vikas Anand

Patna, Nov. 3: Ramadhar Paswan, the mukhiya (village head) of Thathan Ekahara panchayat in Vaishali district, could not sleep for once since last night.

Maoists have warned him of dire consequences for allegedly indulging in anomalies while preparing a list of beneficiaries of Indira Awas Yojana, a central government scheme for the poor.

Paswan is among 20 people’s representatives and public servants summoned by the Maoists at a jan adalat (kangaroo court) held at Thathan Bujurg village in the Sadar area of Vaishali district, around 25km north of Patna, yesterday.

According to the kangaroo court’s proceedings, the village head, who was present at the adalat, was first apprised of the charges levelled against him. “If you don’t mend yourself and perform your duty well, then be ready to face the consequences,” the kangaroo court warned the village head in the presence of 100-odd people.

Paswan, who was accompanied by a sarpanch and other people’s representatives, pledged that justice would be done to all the beneficiaries of government schemes. He, however, admitted that some complaints had been received in the preparation of list of the beneficiaries of Indira Awas Yojana.

The kangaroo court, which was held on the premises of a government middle school on the outskirts of the village, told Paswan that middlemen were demanding Rs 10,000 each from people living the below poverty line to avail benefits of the Indira Awas Yojana.

The court also alleged gross financial irregularities in the implementation of old age and widow pension schemes. The issue related to use of sub-standard materials in the construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was also raised at the kangaroo court organised under the banner of Lok Tantrik Adhikar Manch, a wing of the banned CPI (Maoist).

It expressed displeasure over siphoning off of public funds meant for the welfare of the deprived sections of society. “We are not going to tolerate such anomalies,” the kangaroo court warned the people’s representatives.

The local police and administrative officials remained clueless about the proceedings of any lok adalat that continued for about one-and-a-half hours. “We have no information about any jan adalat organised by any Naxalite outfit,” Hajipur sadar sub-divisional police officer Kailash Prasad said.

About a dozen villages spread over 10sqkm are in the grip of the rebels. The self-styled sub-zonal commander of the CPI(Maoist), Musafir Sahni, who is at present lodged in the Motihari central jail, is a resident of Thathan village. His nephew, Dilip Sahni, alias Pralay, is an active member of the organisation, sources said.

Residents said one Haresh Singh, a resident of Ekahara village, has been given an ultimatum by the Maoists to apologise for the offence he had allegedly committed recently. Singh has been accused of opening fire during a torch light procession taken out by the activists of the outfit on September 23.

The sources said the Maoists had punished two persons by shooting them at the same spot (middle school ground) a few years ago after they failed to follow the diktats of the outfit. The police, however, described the killings as a fall-out of an old rivalry.

The extremists in their parlance called the school ground as Shaheed Kranti Maidan. Village fairs are held every year on the school campus in the memory of the Maoist leaders killed in encounters with the police.