Jharkhand education minister Jagarnath Mahato has received three threat letters through speed post at his residence in Bermo of Bokaro district and his official residence in Ranchi.

Two letters arrived on Wednesday at the Bermo residence, while the other letter arrived on Thursday at the minister’s Ranchi residence.

All three letters have been sent by Forward Group Teachers Association from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. However, neither the school teachers nor the university teachers in the state have ever heard of any such teachers’ organisation.

The letters are addressed to chief minister Hemant Soren and education minister Jagarnath Mahato. But the chief minister’s secretariat confirmed that no such letter has reached the office till Thursday evening.

“The person who sent the letters has threatened to kill the minister if he does not stop speaking about 1932 Khatian (land records). The letter also wants an increase in the grant of intermediate and degree colleges,” said Diwakar Mahato, a close aide of the minister.

The Soren-led government passed a bill during a special session of the Assembly last month related to the domicile policy in Jharkhand.

According to this, only those persons whose names or whose ancestors’ names are mentioned in the land survey papers (Khatian) conducted in the state in 1932 or before that, will consider Jharkhand as their domicile.

Such people whose ancestors have been living in Jharkhand since 1932 or earlier, but whose names have not been recorded in the survey papers of 1932 due to lack of land, can consider Jharkhand as domicile on the basis of the identity certificate given by the Gram Sabhas.

Only those who will be domiciled in Jharkhand will get the benefit of reservation in the state.

A provision has also been added in this bill that in all the government appointments of the state, 100 per cent of posts of third and fourth grade will be filled up by those who are domiciled in Jharkhand. The Bill has been sent to the Centre for inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.

Jagarnath Mahato was one of the most ardent supporters of the 1932 Khatian policy.

The government decision was welcomed by locals but evinced sharp criticism from those who had settled in the state from other neighbouring states.

“It has been written in the letter that people from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh work in colleges, so the government should increase the grant of colleges. The names of degree colleges are also mentioned in this letter. The name of the chief minister is also mentioned in the letter,” said Mahato.