Panchayat pradhan shot dead by unidentified persons

A panchayat pradhan of a village in Jharkhand's Khunti district was shot dead by unidentified persons, a senior police officer said Monday. Superintendent of Police, Alok said a probe team headed by Sub Divisional Poilice Officer (SDPO) is looking into the killing of Kochang gram pradhan Sukhram Munda on Saturday and there is no arrest so far.

Khunti SDPO Ashish Mahali is heading the probe team. Unidentified persons shot dead the 50-year-old Munda outside his house under Arki police station of the district on Saturday night, the police said.

They also said that Munda was wanted by the police for allegedly patronizing the 'pathalgadi' movement last year. Five tribal women were gang raped in June last year in Kochang village and on May 17 this year a local court had awarded life imprisonment to six people, including the head of a missionary school..