A 35-year-old JMM leader was shot dead at Dharkiro village in Rajganj, around 26km from Dhanbad district headquarters, on Monday morning with family members claiming that a land dispute was the trigger behind the killing.

Nimai Mahto, a state executive committee member of the JMM, was walking home after taking a bath in Katri river around 9am when two bike-borne men came from behind and opened fire at him. One of the bullets pierced his stomach, one hit him in the chest while a third one grazed his right ear.

Nimai collapsed on the road and the killers sped away. 

Soon, a team from Rajganj police station reached the spot and rushed him to Bokaro General Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Police recovered empty shells of 9mm cartridges from the spot.

The broad daylight killing sparked a massive protest in the area with family members and local residents blocking Katras-Rajganj Road for over an hour, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.

“He (Nimai) was a good politician and social worker, who was always ready to help the needy. Despite holding a key post in the party (JMM), he was easily approachable,” said a local resident. 

The agitators called off their stir after the police assured them of all-out efforts to bring the killers to book.

Later, speaking to The Telegraph, DSP (Baghmara) Mazhrul Hoda said that the police were carrying out raids at several places to arrest the killers.

On the motive behind the murder, Hoda said preliminary investigations hinted at a land dispute that led to the killing. 

“Initial inputs from family members and neighbours suggest Nimai was socially active and helped people in their needs. Recently, he tried to intervene when some people were allegedly trying to grab a four-acre plot of Sadhu Mahto, a local resident, and thereby, developed animosity with the other party,” he added.

However, Hoda maintained that police were yet to verify the claims. “Probe is on and it would be too early to jump to any conclusion at the moment,” the DSP asserted.

Rajganj OC Pradeep Mahto, on the other hand, said the JMM leader was attacked due to animosity with some local people but the reason was not yet known. He also refused to divulge the names of the suspects at this juncture. 
“We are very sure that he was attacked due personal animosity,” he added.