A 35-year-old child rights activist was shot and then his body hacked to pieces in broad daylight at his home-office at Gokulnagar in Gumla district on Tuesday.

Mithilesh Kumar Sahu was associated with Bal Mazdoori Mukti Sansthan, an NGO. Officer in-charge of Gumla police station Manoj Kumar said the attack on him occurred between 9am and 9.30am. “We are probing the case from various angles. Prima facie, it looks like a case of personal enmity, judging by the manner in which he was killed. Attempts are on to identify his killers,” he said.

A woman employee of the NGO, unwilling to be named, said that two persons came to thei office at 9 am, but left soon after. “A few minutes later, four others barged into his room, shot at him first and later hacked him to death and fled,” she said, adding that Sahu was operating his office from his residence located in Gokulnagar in Gumla town.

Notably, Sahu had registered his NGO this February, said associates. Sources in the NGO claimed that Sahu had rescued two child labourers (girls) from Delhi a month back. The suspected that his murder could be linked to that case. Police, however, told the media that Sahu also faced murder charges. “He was also in jail and had come out a few months back in connection with a murder case," added Gumla police station OC Kumar.