The police recovered the dead body of Paramjeet alias Sonu Das, zonal commander of Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist) from Tikda village which falls under the Lawalong police station.

According to police officials, Das had been murdered but they are yet to understand whether extremists or criminals were involved in this killing. He had a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

Significantly, Das had recently formed another outfit called the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), which was functional in Chatra.

Police sources maintained that they had rushed to the spot immediately after being informed about the murder on Tuesday afternoon. As an active Maoist zonal commander, Das had soured his relationship with many in the area.

The police, after a primary investigation had concluded that Das had been murdered in some other place following which his body had been dumped in Tikda village.

Superintendent of police Rishav Kumar Jha confirmed the news of the murder and recovery of his dead body. He said, “We will do a thorough investigation to solve the murder case and understand the motive behind the murdered and who is behind this killing.” The dead body has been sent to Chatra Sadar Hospital for postmortem.

His killing has once again highlighted the issue of gun battles between the rival outfits. However, the officials refuted this claim and said regular operations are on in a bid to contain all extremist activities in the district.