Several policemen were injured and government vehicles torched as a protest against a coal mining project turned violent in Raigarh.
Protesters opposing the Gare Pelma Sector-I coal block alleged irregularities in the public hearing process.
The state administration said the situation is under control, while political leaders blamed government action for the clashes.
Several police personnel were injured and multiple vehicles were torched on Saturday after a protest against a coal mining project escalated into violence in the Tamnar area of Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district, officials said.
According to PTI, the violence broke out during an ongoing sit-in by villagers opposing the Gare Pelma Sector-I coal block, with the mob allegedly storming the coal handling plant (CHP) of Jindal Power Limited, setting fire to a conveyor belt, two tractors and other vehicles, and vandalising office premises.
People from 14 villages affected by the Gare Pelma Sector-I coal block have been staging a sit-in at CHP chowk in Libra village since December 12, protesting a public hearing held on December 8 at Dhaurabhatha for environmental clearance of the project, the district administration said in a statement.
“On Saturday morning, around 300 protesters gathered at the site, and some of them allegedly blocked the road, disrupting traffic. Senior revenue and police officials intervened around 10 am and persuaded the protesters to return to their tents at the designated protest site,” the statement said.
However, the situation deteriorated as more villagers joined the protest. “The crowd continued to swell as people from nearby villages joined, taking the strength to around 1,000. Despite repeated appeals through loudspeakers by revenue and police officials to maintain peace, the crowd allegedly turned violent around 2.30 pm, broke police barricades and attacked personnel with stones and sticks,” the statement added.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Anil Vishwakarma, Tamnar police station in-charge Kamla Pusam and a constable sustained serious injuries, while several other police personnel, including women officers, were also hurt, officials said.
“The mob then allegedly set ablaze a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance, besides damaging several other government vehicles. The protesters then reportedly moved towards the Jindal company's coal handling plant (CHP), forced their way inside and torched a conveyor belt, two tractors and other vehicles, besides vandalising the office premises,” the release said.
PTI reported that efforts to defuse the situation continued even after local legislator from Lailunga Vidyawati Sidar, Raigarh Collector Mayank Chaturvedi and Superintendent of Police Divyang Patel reached the spot, but stone-pelting resumed and another incident of arson was reported inside the CHP.
Police said the situation remained tense but under control, with security stepped up across the area.
Collector Mayank Chaturvedi told reporters that villagers had been protesting peacefully for the past 15 days and that the administration had been providing necessary facilities. “On Saturday at around 2 to 2.30 pm, some anti-social elements provoked protesters and stone-pelting began, injuring security personnel deployed at the site. Further attempts were made by public representatives, district administration and police officials to hold talks, but the crowd remained aggressive and appeared leaderless,” he said.
Efforts are underway to identify those responsible and resume dialogue, he added, noting that the condition of the injured was stable and some had been shifted to Raigarh for better treatment.
Villagers, however, said they were demanding cancellation of the proposed mining project and alleged that the public hearing for its clearance had violated prescribed norms. They claimed the situation escalated after police attempted to remove protesters from the demonstration site on Saturday morning.
One of the protesters, Rajesh Singh Markam of Kasdol village in Tamnar, submitted a complaint to the Raigarh Superintendent of Police on Saturday, alleging that he had been receiving threats from the local station house officer.
Some purported videos of the clashes circulated on social media, showing a woman police officer being assaulted by women in the crowd, while others appeared to intervene to shield her.
Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij described the clash as unfortunate and blamed the state government’s “stubbornness”. He alleged that the government was forcibly displacing villagers and tribals from forest land for coal mining.
Baij claimed that villagers and tribals protesting the alleged forcible allotment of the coal block and a “fake” public hearing in Tamnar’s Gare Pelma Sector-I were subjected to a police lathi-charge at the behest of industrialists, following which protesters retaliated. “The villagers were holding a peaceful agitation but were provoked by the government's approach,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
