MAOISTS BRAZENLY KILL JHARKHAND PARLIAMENTARIAN DURING

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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
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

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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