Panchayat polls: Former naxal area commander Parmeshwar Kol wins from Chandauli

[related-post]

Speaking to The Indian Express, Parmeshwar Kol said that his win would “set an example for others” who had been arrested for being associated with the Naxal movement. “People booked for joining Naxal movement generally avoid joining the mainstream. After winning the election, I have set an example,” he said. Of the five cases pending against Kol includes the one in which 15 police officers were killed in a naxal attack in 2004. A native of Chandauli’s Narkati village, Kol defeated sitting BDC member Basmati Kol by a margin of 397 votes, Naugarh’s Returning Officer Akhilesh Kumar confirmed Monday evening.

Kol said that the UP police had arrested him in December 2004 in connection with the landmine blast in Naugarh where a truck carrying PAC jawans had exploded, resulting in the death of 15 of them. After serving over 10 years in prison, he was released on bail in 2013.

“I have been acquitted in two of the seven cases. The trial in connection with the murder of 15 PAC jawans is still pending. I was lodged in jails of UP and Bihar,” he said.

SHO, Naugarh police station, Ram Narayan said they regularly organise meeting with people like Parmeshwar Kol who are out of jail, and convince them to join the mainstream. Kol’s victory is a good sign for our society, he added.

Sonu, on the other hand, was arrested on November 22 last year on charges of kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl. The victim was recovered by the police four days after Sonu’s arrest. The police had filed its chargesheet against Sonu under various sections including Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The chargesheet had referred to the medical examination of the victim which had confirmed that the minor was raped.