Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has directed for a probe into Thursday’s clash at Madhuban in Dhanbad district and warned of stern action against those found guilty.

Baghmara sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Purushottam Kumar Singh sustained head injury in stone pelting during the group clash on Thursday evening.

Singh has been admitted to the Mission Hospital, Durgapur, in neighbouring Bengal. His condition is reported to be “stable”.

On Friday, Hemant Soren spoke with Ashok Singh, father of the injured police officer.

“The chief minister said that the state government stands with his family with full sensitivity. He also assured that the state government will provide whatever support is needed for his treatment. If needed, the government is ready to airlift him to a better place. The government will also talk to the hospital management,” said a statement issued by the chief minister’s secretariat.

In a statement issued to the media, Hemant said: “The government is committed to the safety of its officers and employees of any category. Any kind of incident that hinders government work and affects government employees during the discharge of duty will not be tolerated. Strict action will be taken against whoever is found guilty.”

The chief minister has also asked the state police for a thorough probe into the group clash.

Bokaro zone inspector general Michael Raj and Bokaro zone deputy inspector general (DIG) Surendra Jha on Friday held meetings with the Dhanbad senior superintendent of police H. P. Janardhanan regarding the incident.

Till the filing of this report, the main accused in the group clash Karu Yadav, as alleged by Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary, is yet to be nabbed though the police are keeping a watch on his residence and hideouts.

On Thursday, a group allegedly owing allegiance to the JMM leader Karu Yadav, ransacked the residential office of Chandra Prakash Choudhary at Babudih Basti following a dispute over construction of boundary wall in coal mining area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).

“The local residents opposed the construction of the boundary wall of the outsourced company as they claimed that it has not paid any compensation for taking over their lands for the construction work. However, the outsourced company henchmen led by a JMM leader Karu Yadav started intimidating the villagers leading to the violent clash,” said apolice official.

“Chandra Prakash Choudhary had been supporting the local residents and demanding that construction works be started only after the payment of compensation. The henchmen targeted the residential office of the MP and burnt a few pieces of furniture and paper kept in the office,” the official added.