RANCHI: Alarmed by a campaign launched by villagers in Chaibasa against extremists, the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) has attempted to distance itself from those lynched by locals, who suspected them to be extremists.In a letter addressed to the villagers, PLFI in-charge Martin Ji claimed there is no member of the organisation by the name of Meta Tiger, asserting that the individuals targeted may have been members of a local gang of thieves trying to tarnish the PLFI’s reputation.“Want to give a message to the common people of Gudri that no any person named Meta Tiger has ever joined the organisation (PLFI) in that area. There is no such person named Meta Tiger in the organisation. There must be the person from a gang of thieves who is carrying out these incidents to defame the organisation,” stated the letter issued by the PLFI President.Martin Ji further insisted the PLFI has always supported the common people and urged them to help identify those responsible. “This (PLFI) is your own organisation, and all of you know that the organisation has always stood for the common people and whoever has done such things, the organisation is trying to identify them and the people are also requested to identify them,” he added.More than 15,000 villagers from around 100 villages in the Gudri and Goilkera areas of Chaibasa have taken to the streets armed with bows, arrows, swords, and traditional weapons, launching a campaign against the Maoists operating in the region.Local sources reported that the campaign, coinciding with the traditional hunting festival known as Sendra, resulted in the deaths of PLFI group leaders Meta Tiger and Gomia, who succumbed to injuries inflicted by arrows.Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta confirmed suspicions that three Maoists had been killed during the villagers’ campaign. Appealing to the villagers, he urged them not to take the law into their own hands.
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