Jharkhand: Role of 'sleeper cells' suspected in Lohardaga violence

Lohardaga (Jharkhand) [India], April 15 : Sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Jharkhand's Lohardaga Arvind Kumar Lal has suspected the involvement of sleeper cells in the violence that broke out between two groups in the Hirhi village of Jharkhand's Lohardaga on Sunday and appealed to the people not to be misled by rumours.
Speaking to ANI, the SDO said, "Sleeper cells disturb the peace in society in various forms. We are trying our best and I believe we will find such people. I have appealed to the people of the district not to be misled by anyone and not to believe in the rumours. We should maintain peace rising above religion for the betterment of the district and the state."
Lal further said that there has been communal harmony in the district in the past few years, however, there are sleeper cells that have emerged recently who are trying to disrupt the harmony of the place.
"The clash is not a result of sudden development but seems to be pre-planned and there's a conspiracy behind this. It means some outside forces are taking lead and have led to the incident. This is being investigated," added the SDO.
However, the Deputy Commissioner termed it "improper to say anything at this point of time" due to the ongoing investigation.
There was a heavy force deployment in Lohardaga, especially in the violence-hit area. Senior officers of the rank of DIG and superintendents were camping in the area. The deployment remains to be in place even after five days of the incident.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate the reason behind the clash in which one person lost his life and several others were injured.
Notably, soon after the clashes on Sunday, section 144 was imposed in the Hirhi village.
Several people were injured after clashes broke out in the Hirhi area of Lohardaga district in Jharkhand after stone-pelting during Shobha Yatra.
Several vehicles were also torched during the violence that erupted on Sunday.