Dumka: Hul Diwas celebrations in Bhognadih, the birthplace of Sido and Kanhu Murmu, were dampened after a clash between the police and the descendants of the revolutionaries left 12 injured on Monday. Five police personnel and seven locals sustained injuries as a section of locals led by Mandal Murmu, a sixth-generation descendant of the revolutionary duo, tried to disrupt a scheduled govt programme at the village after Sahibganj district administration denied his outfit Sido-Kanhu Murmu Hul Foundation to host a parallel programme, unlike previous years. In the 2024 assembly election, Mandal, the then a JMM worker, was a proposer for chief minister Hemant Soren, the party candidate for Barhet (SC) assembly seat. He later flipped to BJP. Mandal, however, installed tents and other makeshift structures at the venue. These were removed by the police on June 28, which created a public outrage. On Sunday, a section of the locals rallied behind Mandal and locked down Sido-Kanhu Park, the venue of the event and blocked the administration from making arrangements for Monday’s function. Police, attempting to break the lock, baton-charged and fired tear gas shells on the agitators who were armed with traditional weapons such as bows and arrows. State school education minister Ramdas Soren was due to attend the function. “Protesters attacked police personnel who were trying to break the lock at the main gate of the park. Mild baton charge was initiated to disperse the mob,” Sahibganj SP Amit Kumar Singh said. A sub-divisional police officer was among the five police personnel who were injured, Singh said. “A group of miscreants tried to disrupt the function, and mild force was used by the police. The function was organised smoothly thereafter,” deputy commissioner Hemant Sati said.
