Criminals Open Fire at Road Construction Site in Jharkhand's Palamu, One Labourer Injured

Ranchi/Palamu- Armed assailants opened fire at a four-lane road construction site on National Highway-39 in Palamu district, Jharkhand, early Friday morning, leaving one labourer injured, officials confirmed.

The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. at a construction camp in Singra, under the Sadar police station's jurisdiction.

According to police sources, the attackers arrived on a motorcycle and fired at labourers sleeping in tents. Vikram Singh, a resident of Rajderwa village under Satbarwa police station, sustained a gunshot wound to his back and was admitted to a private hospital in Palamu.

The gunfire sparked panic among workers at the site. Police and company officials reached the location, recovered bullet shells, and launched an investigation.

Initial findings suggest extortion may have been a motive, but it remains unclear if a criminal gang or extremist outfit was involved. CCTV footage is being reviewed to identify the culprits.

Jharkhand has witnessed multiple attacks on road and railway construction sites and companies involved in coal projects. Over 40 such incidents have occurred in the past three years.

On June 23-24, armed criminals torched machinery and vehicles at a road construction site in Hazaribagh district. Earlier, on June 1, Maoists set fire to vehicles at a coal project in Keredari, Hazaribagh, and fired at workers, injuring a youth.

In another incident on March 19-20, criminals attacked Central Coalfields Limited's New Birsa project, damaging equipment and firing at workers, injuring a CCL employee.

With inputs from IANS