Women wait to cast their votes in Tamar. File picture

Jamshedpur, Jan. 12: The Tamar Assembly by-election has taken its toll and the state intelligence department has a pressing research to carry out.

As Tamar is considered a hotbed of Naxalite activities, the intelligence department is trying to understand the Maoist impact on election results. Did the common men and women support those who expressed anti-rebel views?

“We are not going to analyse whether noted criminal Kundan Pahan had supported any candidate during the elections. But we will try to find out how many of the votes were cast in favour of candidates who were against Maoists,” said a highly placed source in the intelligence department.

During the analysis of the poll results that had been declared booth-wise, officials would look into how many votes each candidate got.

Insiders say the defeat of the widow of slain MLA Ramesh Singh Munda, JD(U) candidate Vasundhara Devi, and the widow of police inspector Sushil Nag, Ajsu-backed Rekha Rani, hints at a pro-Maoist trend among voters.

When this correspondent visited Arki village in Tamar, residents confided that they could not afford to vote against those who displayed some sympathy for Maoists as they feared for their lives. “We cannot afford to go against the wish of Kundan Pahan as his men will create trouble for us,” said an Arki resident.

Residents of Pahan’s village of Barrigada, had boycotted the bypoll. Deputy inspector-general of police (Ranchi) N.P. Singh said all Barrigada residents had fled their homes prior to the polling. “While the men had fled their houses on the eve of the bypoll, the women had left their homes an hour before polling began. But the polling was normal in adjoining villages, including Jojohatu, Ballalong, Kota and Sigid,” Singh said.

Tamar comprises Arki, Tamar and Bundu. For two years, Tamar, Bundu and Arki have become the centre of Maoist activities. Pahan, who carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, has been accused of the murder of MLA Ramesh Singh Munda and DSP Pramod Kumar, robbing Rs 5.2 crore from an ICICI armoured van and slaying five police jawans. Pahan is also accused of gun-snatching from the police in Chowka and slaying of two truckers in Chandil.