Cops attack villagers protesting over steel plant
People of Dhinkia in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district barricaded their village entrance following the violent police crackdown on Friday for protesting against a proposed steel plant.
A faceoff between villagers and police turned violent, leading to nearly 50 villagers sustaining injuries. Male policemen were caught on camera attacking women during the crackdown. Activists claims that injured children and women have not even received medical assistance due to the hostile situation.
15 policemen sustaining injuries and five villagers were arrested, Indian Express reported.
After winning a decade-long battle to evict POSCO, the South Korean global steel company in 2017, the villagers renewed their protest last month after government planned to hand over the land to JSW Utkal Steel Limited.
JSW Steel has proposed to establish a 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity steel plant at an estimated cost of around Rs 55,000 crore.
