Coal mine protest turns violent in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh; several cops injured, vehicles torched
The gang also raided the coal handling facility of Jindal Power Limited on Saturday and set fire to a conveyor belt, two tractors and other vehicles, and also destroyed the office building, officials said.
They said tensions rose after protesters threw stones and set fire to a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance, as well as damaging several government vehicles.
According to a statement from the district administration, people from 14 villages affected under the Sector-1 coal block in Tamnar district (Gare Pelma) have been staging a sit-in protest at the CHP community in Libra village since December 12 against the public hearing held at Dhaurabhatha on December 8 for the project.
“Approximately 300 protesters gathered in the area on Saturday morning and some allegedly blocked the road and disrupted traffic. Senior finance and police officials intervened around 10 a.m. and persuaded the protesters to return to their tents in the designated protest area,” the statement said.
“However, with the addition of people from nearby villages, the crowd continued to grow and the number reached nearly 1,000. Despite repeated calls from revenue and police officials to maintain peace through loudspeakers, the crowd allegedly turned violent at around 2.30pm, breaking police barricades and attacking personnel with stones and sticks,” the statement said.
Police Sub-Divisional Officer Anil Vishwakarma, Tamnar police station in-charge Kamla Pusam and a constable were seriously injured in the attack and several police officers, including women personnel, were also injured. The mob then allegedly set fire to a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance, as well as damaging several other government vehicles. The protesters then reportedly advanced towards Jindal company’s coal handling plant (CHP), forced their way in and set fire to a conveyor belt. “In addition to damage to tractors and other vehicles, office buildings are also damaged,” the statement said.
It was stated that the situation did not improve even after local legislator from Lailunga, Vidyawati Sidar, Raigarh Collector Mayank Chaturvedi and Superintendent of Police Divyang Patel reached the spot to calm the crowd.
In the statement made by the district administration, it was stated that stones were thrown at the CHP factory again and another arson incident occurred.
Meanwhile, police said the situation was tense but under control and security had been tightened in the area.
Collector Mayank Chaturvedi told reporters that the villagers have been sitting peacefully at the protest site for the last 15 days and the administration has provided necessary facilities.
“Around 14:00 to 14:30 on Saturday afternoon, some anti-social elements provoked the protesters and started throwing stones, injuring security personnel on duty in the area. Public representatives, district administration and police officials made further attempts to hold talks, but the crowd remained aggressive and appeared leaderless,” he said.
He added that efforts are ongoing to identify those responsible for the crowd to restore dialogue.
It was stated that the condition of the injured was stable and some of them were transferred to Raigarh for better treatment.
The villagers said they demanded cancellation of the proposed mining project and alleged that the public hearing held for clearance of the project was against the prescribed norms.
They claimed that the situation became tense after police tried to remove protesters from the demonstration site on Saturday morning.
One of the agitators, Rajesh Singh Markam of Kasdol village in Tamnar district, filed a complaint with the Raigarh SP on Saturday, alleging that he was facing threats from the local SHO.
Some alleged videos of the clashes went viral on social media.
In the footage, it was seen that a female police officer was attacked by women in the crowd, and a few people tried to protect her.
Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij called the clash unfortunate and attributed the situation to the “stubbornness” of the state government.
Biaj alleged that the state government was forcibly displacing villagers and tribals from their forests and land used for coal mining.
He alleged that villagers and tribals protesting against the alleged forced allotment of coal block in Tamnar’s Gare Pelma Sector-I and the ‘fake’ public hearing were subjected to lathi charge by the police on the orders of the industrialists, following which the agitated villagers retaliated.
“The villagers were carrying out a peaceful agitation but were provoked by the government’s approach,” Baij said. he added.
