Patna: An opposition lawmaker seeking re-election to the Jharkhand state assembly has been caught in a peculiar situation after at least two candidates contesting in the elections are accused in the murder of his father, Ramesh Singh Munda, a former minister.

Lawmaker Vikas Munda is very shocked and shattered to find his father’s murderers in the poll fray. They include Gopal Krishna alias Raja Peter and Kundan Pahan, a dreaded Maoist facing 127 criminal cases, who have been formally charge-sheeted in this murder case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

In its charge-sheet filed before the NIA court in March 2017, the NIA had found Peter as the “mastermind” of the murder and Pahan the accused in the murder case.

“During investigation by NIA, it emerged that Gopal Krishna Patar (Raja Peter) was the mastermind and the originator of the conspiracy to kill MLA (state lawmaker) Ramesh Singh Munda. It was revealed that Raja Peter had political ambitions and in order to achieve this, he criminally conspired with the Maoists, gave them huge cash and a weapon to carry out the given task,” the NIA said in its charge-sheet to the court.

The charge-sheet adds further, “He [Peter] also took the support of Maoists in winning the by-elections after the death of the sitting MLA and subsequently became a minister in the Jharkhand government.”

Both Peter and Pahan are lodged in the jail but have already filed their nominations from the Tamar assembly seat in Jharkhand currently held by Munda, son of the slain minister. While Pahan filed nominations on Monday, Peter has filed nominations on Saturday.

Police said Peter had lost to Munda in both 2000 and 2005 assembly elections and became his bitter enemy. Eventually, he hatched a conspiracy to remove the rival from his path forever. In 2008, Munda was addressing a function at a local school in his constituency when the Maoists appeared on the scene and sprayed bullets on him, killing on the spot. His death paved the way for the victory of Peter in the subsequent by-elections held the very next year but now everything stands exposed now.

“I am very shocked to find two of my father’s murderers in the poll fray. The masses will surely teach a lesson to them,” Munda told the media on Tuesday.

He even mocked the move of the Pahan to join the poll fray saying how he as a Maoist had been boycotting elections. “The person who used to try local villagers in the kangaroo courts is now himself standing in people’s court. The masses are aware of his real face,” he added.