With the district administration of Jagatsinghpur in the last phase of its land acquisition drive for the Posco steel project, a question has cropped up whether anti-project leader Abhay Sahoo was really arrested or he surrendered to the police.
Senior Minister and Paradip MlA Damodar Rout suspects that Sahoo, supremo of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, facilitated his arrest after feeling that his efforts to stop land acquisition for the project have failed.
Sahoo was arrested while he was trying to go outside the State on May 11. His visit to Tamil Nadu at a time when the land acquisition drive has reached a final stage also created confusion as his presence was most required at the proposed plant site villages at this crucial period.
It is widely believed that Sahoo was fighting a losing battle. Though his agitation delayed the project for quite a long, it ultimately failed to stop it. The administration with its long patience has been successful in acquiring land for the project near Paradip.
Aware that his failure would decisively come to light very soon, Sahoo had no alternative but to facilitate his arrest, observers feel thereby endorsing Dr Rout’s suspicion. Sahoo can now find a plea that the administration became successful in its efforts in helping the project as he was put behind the bars.
Meanwhile, Jagatsinghpur district Collector Satya K Mallick has said that the administration requires only one more week to complete acquisition of the 2,700 acres of land required for the project.