Trade union leader’s son shot at in Dhanbad

Dhanbad: The ongoing war of attrition between the rival factions of the family of strongmen of Dhanbad took another gory turn on Sunday night when the son of a Janta mazdoor Sangh (Kunti Group) leader Avinash Singh alias Sonu was shot at near Tisra police outpost of Jharia police station. Sonu is said to be critical and has has been referred to the Durgapur mission hospital, West Bengal.
Meanwhile, Sonu’s brother has alleged that Eklavya Singh, former Dhanbad deputy mayor and brother-in-law of Jharia Congress MLA Purnima Neeraj Singh, fired the shot.
According to him, when he, along with Sonu and others were returning home around 1 am, Eklavya and his supporters stopped them near the Thana More and fired at Sonu, who sustained two bullet injuries on the hand and face. He added that Sonu was immediately taken to SNMMCH, Dhanbad, from where he was referred to a private hospital for better treatment. Doctors of the hospital were successful in taking out only one bullet from the body after which he was referred to the Durgapur hospital.
Manish Singh, the son of former Jharia MLA and wife of Suryadeo Singh Kunti Singh, visited the hospital in the night itself to ensure that his supporter gets the best medical treatment.
When contacted, officer-in-charge of the Tisra police outpost, Abhijeet Kumar, said, “A proper FIR would be lodged after the family members submit a written complaint.” Although none of the factions was ready to admit, the incident is said to be the fallout for control over the illegal coal trade going on unabated in the Tisra area.