RANCHI: At least four villagers were killed and more than 20 injured in police firing in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district on Saturday morning, an officer said.
“Prohibitory orders were imposed in area. The situation is under control. Additional forces were sent to spot,” Inspector General Operation and Police spokesperson M.S. Bhatia told.
According to Bhatia, the problem began when police took Congress legislator Nirmala Devi from Barkagaon in Hazaribagh into custody.
She has been staging a protest at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant gate for last few days.
“The NTPC was finding difficulties in taking heavy machines inside the work area. Police took custody of the Congress legislator. The villagers forcefully freed Nirmala Devi and abducted Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Circle Officer (CO) and thrashed them brutally. Additional reinforcement were sent. The aggressive villagers continued pelting stones on the police,” said Bhatia.
At least six policemen were critically injured and two police vehicles torched after which the police opened fire at the villagers.
The ASP was rushed to Ranchi for treatment.
The villagers supported by the opposition parties were protesting against land acquisition and low compensation amount by the NTPC.
Earlier, former Congress MLA of Barkagaon Yogendra Sao fought for the cause of the villagers and later his wife Nirmala Devi, now MLA, supported them.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:www.rightnow.io)
