Lango, Aug 22: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda has announced a Rs 15 crore package for the upliftment of extremist-hit Dumaria subdivision of east Singhbhum district and asked the people of Lango village to resist naxalites. Munda made his announcement during his visit to the village, over 100 km from Jamshedpur, yesterday, nearly a fortnight after the lynching of nine peoples war activists by residents of the village.

"Resist fearlessly, the government is with you," he assured when a villager Parvati Gope told him that villagers were afraid of retaliatory attack. Fear of retaliatory attacks appeared to continue to haunt the locals and villagers evaded questions from visiting scribes as youths armed with bows and arrows guarded the strategic places of the village, which is surrounded by hills.

"I don't know. I was not present during the incident," said Nandu Gandra, standing barely a few yards away from Munda armed with bow and arrows when the Chief Minister distributed mosquito nets among the villagers.

Health minister Dinesh Sarangi and building construction minister Raghuvar Das congratulated the villagers for their action against the naxalites, while the Chief Secretary A K Mishra inquired into the security arrangements for them. People's union for civil liberties Jharkhand unit president Subroto Bhattacharjee has, however, questioned the role of the police in the incident and said "no section of the community can be authorised/allowed for extra judicial execution and killing." Bureau Report