MAOISTS BRAZENLY KILL JHARKHAND PARLIAMENTARIAN DURING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000074 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC PTER PGOV IN SUBJECT: MAOISTS BRAZENLY KILL JHARKHAND PARLIAMENTARIAN DURING FOOTBALL MATCH ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On Sunday March 4 Maoist rebels shot and killed Sunil Mahto, a Member of Parliament (MP) from the city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and General Secretary of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) political party. The attack occurred at a football tournament in the village of Ghatshila, near the Jharkhand-West Bengal border. Chief Minister Madhu Koda accepted blame for a lapse in security to protect Mahto, and ordered an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The JMM called a Jharkhand "bandh" (strike) on March 5 to protest the attack. Although speculation abounds as to the motive for the killing, what is clear is that state efforts at curbing Maoist activity have not been successful, and that Maoists are able to operate freely in the state. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Jamshedpur MP and JMM General Secretary Sunil Mahto, along with three others were shot dead by Maoist rebels at a football tournament in a village near Ghatshila (bordering West Bengal) on Sunday March 4 evening. According to an eyewitness statement, around 25 armed Maoists including three women came from behind the make shift tent at the football field where Mahto was sitting. While some of them walked up to the unsuspecting MP pretending to "play Holi," (the Holi festival took place March 3-4) the others shot him at a close range with the weapons they had grabbed from his bodyguards. Police said the rebels pumped around seven rounds into Mahto's chest and abdomen. Before escaping from the scene of crime, the Maoists also set fire to Mahto's vehicle. ¶3. (SBU) The 41-year-old Mahto was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony of the football tournament, being held in the memory of Santosh Mahto, leader of an anti-Maoist organization, who was himself killed by Maoists a few months ago. Jharkhand police officials told Post that this was the first time that Maoists had killed a sitting MP from Jharkhand. ¶4. (SBU) Media reports suggest that Mahto had fewer than normal security personnel guarding him at the time of the attack. Jharkhand's Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi told journalists that, "The incident is shocking and it indicates security lapses. Neither Sunil (Mahto) had ever raised his security issue, nor had the intelligence agencies given any input regarding the security threat. We are shocked by the �0A;incident and we will review the security of VIPs in the state." Chief Minister Madhu Koda accepted the purported lapse in security and ordered a manhunt to catch the killers, saying the attack had "hurt" his government and that he would take "all steps to curb extremism." The Jharkhand government has recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),and Union Home Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal traveled to Jharkhand to obtain a report from the government. ¶5. (SBU) The JMM called a Jharkhand "bandh" on March 5 to protest against the attack. All other political parties have extended their support to the bandh. In Jamshedpur, a city founded by the Tata family, the Tatas cancelled their Founder's Day celebrations. The attack has raised the continuing problem of Maoist violence in the state, where Maoists operate in 18 out of 22 districts. Former Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Chief Minister of Jharkhand (now an independent MP) Babulal Marandi opined that all the previous state governments including the present state government had ignored intelligence reports that some of the MPs are target of Maoists. Union Food Processing Minister and Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay told the media, "Jharkhand government has failed to deliver and has not taken the help of the Center to counter the MCC (Maoist) violence. We are willing to provide all and sundry to fight this menace, but the state government has to come forward to receive it." Local BJP General Secretary Sunil Singh added, "The basic issue is that the Naxalite menace is growing in the state as there are no concerted efforts brought out by the affected states in the country to control this. Maintenance of Law and order should be clubbed with developmental works in the areas which have been left behind in the race since independence." ¶6. (SBU) Some political figures took a more conspiratorial line. A JMM leader on the condition of anonymity said that, "Sunil Mahto was on the verge of becoming a Union minister as he would have filled up the vacancy created by Guruji (Shibu Soren)." (Note: Prior to the attack, JMM had four MPs in the Parliament, including JMM chief and former Union coal minister KOLKATA 00000074 002 OF 002 Shibu Soren who is now in a Jharkhand jail convicted of murder). Another source in the state Congress party told Post that Mahto was "basically interested in grabbing civil contracts in his area (Jamshedpur)." The Chief Minister has asked for more about the organizers of the football match. "It could be that the football match was organized to trap the MP as he had special weakness for football," a senior police official told Post. Salman Ravi a senior journalist who reports for the BBC from Jharkhand told Post that "it may be a plot, but it would be clear only after a preliminary enquiry is made into it. The Maoists had definite information about the MP's movement and the entire attack looks planned." ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The killing of a Member of Parliament in the state has sent ripples through Jharkhand's fragile state government. Chief Minister Koda has asked government officials to seal the borders with West Bengal and carry out a total manhunt for the attackers. Even if the attackers are found, the manner and brazenness of the killing show that Maoists can operate unfettered in Jharkhand, and that the state apparatus has yet to come up with an adequate plan of action to combat the Maoist menace. JARDINE