Over 150 villagers, including several women, moved into the Mahan forests on Thursday to protect it from being marked for destruction by an Essar-led coal mine, even as their fellow satyagrahis were arrested by the local police at midnight from Greenpeace's office on Wednesday night. The four arrested have been roughed up by the police, denied bail and taken into custody for trying to protect the Mahan forest from coal mining for corporate profit, it has been alleged.
Mahan Sangharsh Samiti member and resident of Amelia village Hardayal Singh in a statement here said, “These dirty tactics do not scare us. We are deeply motivated by our brothers and sisters who have fought in various other movements. We are ready to go through arrest, physical abuse or any kind of torture they subject us to. We will not leave the forests and we will get justice in the end. Our fight will not go in vain.”
The four satyagrahis were arrested in the middle of the night and slapped with charges of robbery, assault on Government servant and obstructing Government work. One of the Greenpeace activists reports that he was beaten up by the police when he refused to sign a confession. These protestors were engaged in the growing van satyagraha, which began in February this year. They have been denied bail and have been taken into judicial custody in Waidhan.
The arrests took place within 48 hours of a protest on Monday, when members of MSS, which included several women, confronted the Essar officials and asked them to stop marking trees. Two Greenpeace activists, Akshay Gupta and Vineet Gupta, who have been arrested, were documenting the incident on camera.
The van satyagraha has been growing stronger as several young volunteers from urban areas have joined villagers in their fight. last month, the volunteers lived in the forests for 15 days helping community members collect Mahua flowers - a non-timber forest produce that is the main source of livelihood for many people.