Sunil Kumar Mahato


Sunil Kumar was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India, representing the constituency of Jamshedpur in the eastern state of Jharkhand. He was General Secretary of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha political party. He was assassinated by suspected Naxalite rebels.

Early life

Mahato was from a Mahto-Kudumi family. In 2003 he was part of a delegation that met with the Governor of Jharkhand asking for recognition as a scheduled tribe.

Political career

Mahato was General Secretary of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party. He was elected to Lok Sabha in the 2004 general election; Abha Mahato of the BJP came in second. On 4 March 2007 he was shot dead by suspected Maoist rebels near Ghatsila in East Singhbhum district while he was attending a local football match organised to mark the Hindu festival of Holi. The attackers also killed the Ghatsila block secretary of JMM, Prabhakar Mahato, and two or four of Sunil Mahato's bodyguards. There were reported to be approximately 30 attackers, including three women.