Khunti: Jawans abducted by self-rule protesters surfaced at a police station early on Friday, 18km from where they were picked up three days ago, but senior police officers found it difficult to explain why there were four of them when only three were reported to have been taken hostage.
IG (Kolhan range) Naveeen Kumar Singh told the media that they had a clue about a fourth missing person and were trying to locate him with the help of Ranchi DIG A.V. Homkar when all the policemen returned on their own.
Singh said the four jawans, Vinod Kerketta, Simon Surin, Subodh Kujur (all Home Guard) and Nagendra Singh (Khunti police), were let off at 2.30am and walked for 40 minutes to reach Saiko police station, about 15km from Ghaghra village where police subsequently recovered three Insas rifles, two uniforms and seven of 13 magazines that had apparently been left by the abductors.
However, the senior police officers did not specify where the four policemen had been kept and by whom, other than saying that the their captors were self-rule protesters who were erecting stone plaques at village squares in the name of pathalgadi, an ancient tribal custom of honouring forefathers.
"The jawans were let off at 2.30am at Tiringkela forests near Tamar road. From there, they walked for 40 minutes and reached Saiko police station in the wee hours of today (Friday). A total of four jawans returned," Singh told the media at 3pm along with Khunti deputy commissioner Suraj Kumar and DIG Homkar.
The jawans were taken hostage by a mob of over 100 women from near MP Karia Munda's residence at Anigara on Tuesday after clashes with police, who were at nearby Ghaghra village to thwart self rule protests and search for four accused of gang raping five social workers on June 19. From then on police launched massive search operations, deploying close to 2,000 security personnel in a dozen villages of the area.
Police even tried to open up a chain of communication with the self-rule protesters, but that did not happen. On Thursday, a desperate police force announced a cash award of Rs 50,000, later revised to Rs 5 lakh, for any information on the missing jawans. Yet nothing seemed to work.
IG Singh, however, tried to put up a brave front, claiming that the jawans were freed because of police strategy.
"They released our men only because of our pressure. Their plan was to frustrate us as much as they could so that we would lathicharge villagers at every stage, which they could then use to advantage. But our focus was on convincing villagers that we had no intention of harassing them," he said.
About the Wednesday's lathicharge and teargas shelling that led to a stampede in which one person was killed in Ghagra, Singh said they were forced to retaliate as they were being attacked.
"But thereafter, our focus was to continue the search but exercise restrain. We did not aggravate anyone. This frustrated them and they finally released our men," he told The Telegraph.
On the fourth jawan about whom the police seemed clueless, Singh claimed otherwise.
"We had received a clue about him and were trying to zero in on him, with help from DIG Homkar. But by then they all returned today (Friday)," he said and went on to provide an elaborate account of the manner in which they were taken hostage.
"The fourth jawan is from district police and was part of a group that reached Ghaghra on Tuesday. Their vehicle was parked near the MP's house. But since he wasn't feeling well, he remained inside the vehicle. Later, when he went to the police post at the MP's residence to have water, he got caught in the commotion and ended up being taken hostage along with the three other jawans," Singh said.
The police did not present the jawans before the media, but released their pictures later on WhatsApp.
Singh they were working on clues provided by the jawans to trace those behind pathalgadi and abductions. "The jawans were relocated to another place hours after they were picked up at 7.30pm on bikes. Thereafter, they were moved around frequently. The jawans could recall only a few places," he said but did not divulge the names.
Asked about local talk that MP Karia Munda's relatives were among those who picked up the jawans, Singh said they were verifying the allegations. "Some people have been identified and they are distant relatives of the MP. But it won't be appropriate to say anything unless we are doubly sure," he said.
