Former Maoist Kundan Pahan, who is currently in jail after being accused of killing Janata Dal (United) Minister Ramesh Singh Munda, is contesting the upcoming Jharkhand assembly polls as an independent candidate.
Former MLA Gopal Krishna Patar aka Raja Peter who is also an accused in the same case is contesting the elections as well on an NCP ticket. Gopal Patar has been accused of hiring a contractor to kill Ramesh Singh Munda -- father of sitting MLA Vikas Munda.
Ramesh Munda, who was a minister in the Madhu Koda government, was killed in 2008 in a Maoist attack allegedly carried out by Kundan Pahan on a contract.
The victim's son Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Vikas Munda and the two accused will face off in the second phase of Jharkhand assembly polls.
Kundan Pahan is lodged in a Hazaribagh jail while Gopal Patar is lodged in Ranchi jail.
Vikas Munda, who is fighting on the ticket of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), expressed confidence that he will win this time too.
"(Gopal) Patar has been rejected by the public and (Kundan) Pahan's time is finished. This is why he surrendered. The people are not frightened right now. Truth is before all. Everyone knows what they have done," he said.
"I agitated for three days after Pahan's surrender and only then the matter was transferred to a higher level agency and the result came in three months. I believe that the court will convict them," he added.
In July 2008, Ramesh Singh Munda was attacked in a school where he had gone to attend a function. Three people, including him, were killed.
The CID carried out an investigation in the case which was later transferred to the NIA. The NIA chargesheeted Goapl Patar after detailed investigation.
Goapl Patar's wife Arti Kumari is leading the election campaign for him and says her husband has been framed.
Ms Kumari said: "One cannot win the elections with the barrel of the gun. My husband lost to Ramesh Munda by a thin margin. Defeated ones don't kill the winners. It's a clear political conspiracy against him to implicate my husband in this case."
"My husband won the previous elections because of the love received from people and will win this time as well. Let the court decide if my husband is guilty or not," she added.
Kundan Pahan surrendered in 2016 as more than 100 cases are registered against him, mostly of Maoist attacks.
Polling for assembly election 2019 in Jharkhand starts on November 30. Tamar will vote on December 7 in the second phase and has a total of 2.03 lakh voters out of which 50 percent are Schedule Tribes.
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