At least two persons were killed and several others injured in a police firing following a scuffle with the protesters demanding compensation and jobs against the land acquired by Inland Power limited (IPl) at Gola in Ramgarh, some 50 km from here.
A mob of around 3-4 thousand people on Monday turned violent after IPl management refused to talk to the protesters.
“Two people named Dashrath Nayak and Tudu Mahto have been killed while several others got injured during an indiscriminate firing done by police at around 3 pm on Monday. The police started firing on the protesters without giving any warning following a scuffle between the two after the crowd started shouting slogans against the management for not keeping its promise of talking with the delegation,” said a local resident Mahendra Pathak. At least a dozen of injured people were rushed to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for treatment, he added.
Sources confirmed that the protesters, staging dharna for at least two months, had been promised to hold a talk with the IPl management with a group of delegates but a crowd of over 3 thousand people gathered there due to which it refused to hold talks with them. As soon as the management refused for talks, protesters turned violent and started damaging pipeline laid by IPl and shouting slogans against the management, which was opposed by the police.
“Suddenly, the crowd turned violent resulting into a scuffle between the police and the protesters following which the police had to resort to firing to scatter the crowd. One Dashrath Nayak got killed on the spot while Tudu Mahto received serious injuries who has been rushed to RIMS along with some other injured persons,” said another local. At least 400 rounds of bullets were fired on the villagers, he claimed.
Police, on the other hand, asserted that Dashrath Nayak was killed on the spot while Tudu Mahto succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to RIMS. The police claimed that it resorted to firing after the crowed turned violent and started pelting stones on it. “A few rounds of bullets were also fired on the police,” claimed a police official.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raghubar Das, taking a serious note of the incident, has ordered a probe into the matter and has asked Hazaribagh Commissioner and Deputy Inspector General to submit a report within a week. “One group went for talks with Inland Power authorities and the second group was involved in ransacking. Villagers pelted stones at the police in which seven policemen were injured. The police retaliated by firing killing one villager. A probe has been ordered into the incident. Hazaribagh Commissioner and Deputy Inspector General of Police will probe the incident,” said Jharkhand police Chief DK Pandey.
Inland Power recently set up a 63 MW thermal power plant that runs on industrial rejects and inferior grade of coal. After the firing, villagers torched official vehicles and blocked the Ranchi-Sikidiri and Gola road. The situation is tense and additional forces have been deployed.
