Tribal village chief murder: Seven arrested in Jharkhand’s Khunti

“Seven people were arrested in connection with the murder of a tribal village head in Jharkhand’s Khunti district,” police said on Wednesday (January 14, 2026).

“Soma Munda, who had also contested the 2024 Assembly elections from the Khunti seat on an Abua Jharkhand Party (AJP) ticket, was murdered on January 7, 2026 over a land dispute,” they said.

“Seven people, including the main accused, have been arrested. A manhunt is on to nab two shooters and some other people involved in the crime,” SP Manish Toppo said.

Munda was shot dead on the Namkum-Jamuadag Road when he was returning home on a motorcycle with his wife. He was the ‘Adel Sanga Padha Raja’, traditional head of 22 villages.

The SP said Munda was murdered following a dispute over 3.16 acre of land in Jiarappa village in the Khunti police station area.

“Devbrat Nath Shahdeo, a resident of Ranchi, was trying to sell this land, which he had acquired from the descendants of the landlords, with the help of local people,” he said.

“Munda and some other villagers had objected to these attempts to sell, as a traditional fair, Padha Jatra Mela, had been held on that land for many years. Last November, levelling work was carried out on the land, and the stone markers were removed, which Munda had opposed. Following this, a conspiracy was hatched, and he was murdered, the SP said.