Court Orders State Response on Surya Hansda Encounter Investigation

Justice has been sought at the Jharkhand High Court concerning the death of Surya Hansda, a former candidate for multiple political parties, in what his family alleges was a fake encounter. The court has now ordered the state government to respond to a petition demanding a CBI investigation into the incident. The bench has also issued a notice to Pankaj Mishra, a leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and given the state six weeks to submit its findings. The hearing, conducted by Justice Ambuj Nath, addressed the criminal writ petition filed for a CBI probe into the encounter of Surya Hansda, who has a history of contesting assembly elections with tickets from parties like the BJP. The court will revisit the case in six weeks. Kumar Harsh, representing the petitioner, presented the arguments. The petition was lodged by Surya Hansda’s wife, Sushila Murmu, and his mother, Neelmani Murmu, who are strongly asserting that the encounter was not genuine and are demanding a full-scale investigation. The petition includes top state administrative and police officials as respondents, such as the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director-General of Police, and the SPs of Godda and Deoghar. Neelmani Murmu’s legal filing indicates that her son was arrested from Nawadih village in Deoghar’s Mohanpur police station jurisdiction prior to the encounter. It is also noted that recent FIRs have implicated Surya Hansda in serious criminal charges at the Lalmatia police station in Godda and Mirza Chowki police station in Sahibganj. Surya Hansda was killed in an alleged police encounter on August 11 in Godda, in the Lalmatia Dhamani hill area falling under Boarijore police station. His arrest reportedly occurred on the evening of August 10.