Tension gripped Dobo village in the adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district as 15 tribal families are facing evacuation from a plot of land bought by the local MLA.
Concerned with the plight of the tribal families, the Sanyukt Gram Sabha Manch, a social body which safeguards the interest of the tribals and other locals, on Sunday held a meeting to stop the families from being displaced. After the meeting was held, a key member of the Sanyukt Gram Sabha Manch, Vishnu Gope, declared that the outfit will fight for the cause of the 15 families and knock the door of the Jharkhand high court soon.
"We are here to safeguard the interest of the tribals and other locals by providing them justice. If any family does face displacement from their own land, then the Sanyukt Gram Sabha Manch will not sit idle irrespective of whether the repression is being meted out by any influential politician or not, " said Gope while talking to The Telegraph Online.
Trouble started after Sabita Mahto, who is the legislator from Ichagarh assembly constituency began getting a plot of land measuring two acres demarcated by the Circle Office, Chandil for the purpose of putting up a boundary wall.
While the land demarcation process began on Saturday, the officials from the Circle Office asked the 15 families to leave their houses which are set up on the land in question. Despite there were large number of policemen accompanied with the Circle Office staff, the villagers protested against the move of the land demarcation causing the demarcation process to stop.
Later in the evening, the aggrieved tribal and Mahto families and others took out a procession for burning an effigy of the legislator Sabita Mahto. The protestors failed to burn the effigy as police picked up several of the protestors, including women and members of the Sanyukt Gram Sabha Manch.
A resident of Dobo, Sumit Mahto, who is leading the protest told this website that as per 1964 Settlement Record the plot No 1239 on which 15 families have set up their houses belonged to Gurucharan Bhumij.
"The same plot of land was bought by JMM leader and former minister Sudhir Mahto in the year 2009 from D'Souzas wrongfully and after his (Sudhir) untimely death, the land in question was transferred in the name of his widow Sabita Mahto. And now as the cost of land in Dobo increased manifolds due today the construction of the Domuhani bridge over Subernarekha, the legislator is set upon to dislodge the poor families, " Sumit said.
Sumit pointed out as the tribal land cannot be sold to non-tribals, including Mahtos under the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, the local residents and also the Sanyukt Gram Sabha Manch are putting up resistance to dislodge the 15 families from their houses.
Sabita Mahto who is the JMM legislator could not be contacted for her comment. Sub-divisional police officer, Chandil, Sanjay Kumar while replying to The Telegraph Online said "some people are creating unnecessary problem over a plot of land at Dobo village. We are trying to get it sorted out. "