Probe ordered in Chhattisgarh mine stir violence; public hearing held for project to be scrapped

Raigarh, Dec 28 (PTI) A day after several policemen were injured and vehicles were set ablaze during a protest against a coal mining project in Tamnar in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday said an inquiry will be conducted and strict action will be taken against those found guilty.

Meanwhile, the local administration said it has initiated the process to cancel the public hearing held for the project, a key demand of the local villagers who have been staging a protest for the past over two weeks.

Speaking to reporters in Raipur, Sai said, 'The incident (of violence and arson) in Tamnar will be investigated, and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty." Police have lodged multiple FIRs in connection with the violence and arson, officials said.

Talking to reporters in Raigarh district, Gharghoda Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Durga Prasad Adhikari said one round of discussion has been held with village representatives following Saturday's incident and the administration has begun the cancellation process in response to their demands.

When specifically asked whether he was referring to the process of cancelling the public hearing, the official replied in the affirmative.

The SDM appealed to villagers to maintain peace, assuring that the administration respects their demands and is acting accordingly.

Tension gripped the Tamnar area on Saturday after clashes broke out between police and villagers protesting the coal mining project. Several policemen, including two officials, were injured after protesters allegedly resorted to stone-pelting.

The mob allegedly set ablaze a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance, besides damaging several other government vehicles. Protesters also stormed into the coal handling plant (CHP) of Jindal Power Limited near Libra and torched a conveyor belt, two tractors and other vehicles, while vandalising office premises, officials said.

Villagers from 14 affected villages under the Gare Pelma Sector-I coal block allotted to Jindal Power Limited in the Tamnar area have been staging a sit-in protest at CHP Chowk in Libra village since December 12 against a public hearing held for the project on December 8.

Villagers alleged the situation escalated after police attempted to remove protesters from the demonstration site and resorted to a lathi-charge.

They have been demanding cancellation of the proposed mining project and the "illegal" public hearing held for its clearance. PTI COR TKP BNM