Godda (Jharkhand), Aug 11 (IANS) Surya Hansda, a history-sheeter with a long list of criminal charges and a former BJP leader, was shot dead in a police encounter in Jharkhand’s Godda district on Monday morning, officials said.

The operation was carried out near Jirli Samari Pahari in the Boarijor police station area, a hilly and forested zone where Hansda was reportedly hiding.

Soon after the encounter, a heavy contingent of police and administrative officials sealed off the area. Entry to the site was strictly prohibited, though curious onlookers gathered in large numbers around the cordoned zone.

Godda Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar confirmed Hansda’s death, stating that the full details of the operation would be shared during a press briefing at 4 p.m.

Hansda, a resident of Dakaita village under Lalmatia police station limits, was once regarded as an influential political figure in the region. In 2019, he contested the Borio assembly seat as a BJP candidate. However, after being denied a ticket in the 2024 elections, he switched to the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) and contested again, but failed to secure victory.

Police records show Hansda faced dozens of criminal cases, ranging from violent attacks to property destruction. On May 27 this year, his name emerged in connection with a firing at Eastern Coalfields Ltd’s Rajmahal project in Paharpur, where a machine operator sustained injuries. Investigators claimed the attack was carried out on Hansda’s orders.

He was also accused in an earlier case involving the torching of trucks and other vehicles at a crusher mill in Sahibganj district. In 2021, police arrested and jailed him in another criminal matter, though he was later released.

According to police, Hansda had been evading arrest for several months, moving from one place to another after his name surfaced in a spate of recent violent incidents.

–IANS

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