Patna: A dreaded Maoist who faces as many as 127 criminal cases, such as murder, robbery and extortion, has said he will contest elections for the Jharkhand state assembly. Kundan Pahan is currently in jail after his surrender.
Pahan’s plan got a boost when a special National Investigation Agency court on Monday granted him formal permission to join the poll fray on condition that he won’t create public disturbance during the filing of nomination. He will be filing his nomination papers in the next couple of days under heavy police security.
“The court has granted him permission to contest elections acting on his undertaking that he won’t create any disturbance and maintain peace during the nomination filing. He has also given a tentative date to the court about when he will be filing his nomination papers,” Pahan’s lawyer Ishwar Dayal told the media on Tuesday.
His move is in sharp contrast to the ideology of the Maoists who have been routinely boycotting elections. Pahan as a top leader of the organisation himself did that several times in the past but now this has become a thing of the past.
He will be taking on another jailed leader Raja Peter who hit national headlines after he defeated former Jharkhand chief minister Sibu Soren in the election arena, making him quit barely a week after he had taken his oath. Peter too is behind bars for conspiring with Maoists to murder a state lawmaker.
Pahan is scheduled to contest elections from Tamar, an assembly seat reserved for the scheduled tribe, which goes to the polls in the second phase on December 7.
Police said the Maoist who once carried a reward of Rs1.5 million (Dh77,192) on his head faces a total of 127 criminal cases pending against him with various police stations. He had joined the organisation in 2000 and his notoriety increased with every crime.
Very soon his name spelt terror in the region especially after his name figured in the murder of a parliamentarian Sunil Kumar Mahto, state lawmaker Ramesh Singh Munda and several policemen. Not only that, he is also accused of robbing Rs50 million in cash and one kilogram of gold from a private bank.
The five-phased elections to elect a total of 81 members of Jharkhand assembly begin on November 30 for which nomination filing process has already started and most of the political parties have already announced the name of their candidates. The counting of votes will take place on December 23.
