Chhattisgarh: Coal Mine Protest Turns Violent In Raigarh; Mob Torch Vehicles, Vandalise Office

New Delhi: An ongoing protest in Tamnar block of Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district against a coal mining project took a violent turn on Saturday when several policemen were injured and vehicles were set ablaze.

As per reports, tensions ensued at the Jindal Coal Handling Plant (CHP) chowk in Libra village, where protests and road blockade have been underway since December 12 as villagers have been staging a sit-in protest against a public hearing held for the project on December 8 at Dhaurabhatha, a statement issued by the district administration stated.

Protests Turned Violent

The protests at the site turned violent when police tried to clear the road, leading to stone pelting and torching of police vehicles, as per reports.

Following the chaos, some villagers were detained during the protest which angered the villagers and led to the clashes.

Mob went on rampage

Highlighting further, the cops added that the mob, thousand in numbers, went on a rampage and torched police jeep, bus and ambulance. Several policemen also sustained injuries during the violence. In addition, the crowd stormed the Jindal CHP, setting fire to a conveyor belt, two tractors, and other vehicles, while also vandalising the office premises, a policeman said.

The cops were however accused of lathi-charge by the locals.

A protestor, staging a sitting protest, stated the crowd went out of control after the cops launched a lathicharge on women sitting on the road to stop mining related vehicles.

In addition, eight policemen, including a local SDPO, Anil Vishwakarma, a local SHO and a constable, are stated to have been injured in the violence.

‘Anti-social elements’

Collector Mayank Chaturvedi stated that some 'anti-social elements' provoked protesters and stone-pelting began, injuring security personnel deployed at the site. Although attempts were made to hold talks, but the crowd remained aggressive and appeared leaderless, as per reports.

Meanwhile, efforts are on to identify responsible persons from the crowd to restore dialogue, he added.

The villagers here have been demanding the cancellation of the proposed mining project and claimed the public hearing held for its clearance was against prescribed norms.

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