NIA court permits jailed Maoist to fight poll

Ranchi, Nov 11 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Monday granted permission to jailed Maoist Kundan Pahan to fight the Jharkhand Assembly poll.Pahan is an accused in several criminal cases including the murder of former Minister Ramesh Singh Munda. Pahan had filed a petition in the NIA court of Navneet Kumar seeking permission to contest the elections."Kundan Pahan sought permission to fight Assembly polls to serve people. The NIA court has granted the permission. Pahan will file nomination papers on November 15. He will fight from Tamar Assembly seat," said Ishwar Dayal, lawyer of Kundan Pahan, to reporters.The Jharkhand government had put a Rs 50 lakh reward on Kundan Pahan. He surrendered in Ranchi in 2017. Apart from killing several policemen, he was also accused of looting a bank van carrying Rs 5 crore cash and two kg gold.Facing 128 criminal cases, 50 in Khuti and 42 in Ranchi and in several other places, Pahan is currently lodged in an open jail in Hazaribagh district.
--IANS ns/rt/bg