ROURKELA: 22 tribals are languishing in jail for the last 11 days after being slapped with serious charges such as attempt to murder and molestation among others for opposing a road over bridge project of the South Eastern Railway (SER) in Bisra block.
They were picked up along with 200 other protestors from the ROB construction site at Kukuda Gate level-crossing on the outskirts of Rourkela after a mob of 500-600 people including women defied prohibitory orders and scuffled with police.
The arrested include Deme Oram, president of Anchalik Suraksha Committee (ASC), a body representing the tribals displaced by the project, who have been languishing behind bars since March 28. The ASC was leading the protest demanding immediate stoppage of work till settlement of pending rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) issues. Adding to the discontent are allegations of the administration trying to falsely frame the agitators to suppress their voice and legitimate demands.
While the 200 agitators including ASC general secretary and Bondamunda panchayat samiti (PS) member Rabi Majhi were released on PR bonds, Deme and 21 others were produced in court the next day on charges of rioting with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, obstructing public servant from discharging duties, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and molestation among others.
The demands for settlement of R&R issues are genuine and the stringent police action has left displaced persons scared, angry and helpless, Majhi said.
“We do not oppose the ROB project, but it is imperative to settle the pending R&R issues of leftover displaced persons,” he said. Before his arrest, Oram had submitted a memorandum to the Bisra tehsildar describing the project site as disputed and demanding immediate stoppage of work. Around 4,000 acre of land was acquired between 1954 and 1964 in and around Bondamunda and the R&R issues of 700 tribal displaced persons are yet to be resolved.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST) had directed Odisha government not to dislocate tribal land oustees till settlement of R&R issues and the administration to consult them before taking up any construction work. However, four houses of tribals located near the ROB project site were demolished without notice and their agriculture crops also damaged, Oram said in his memorandum.
But Bisra tehsildar Jyotsnarani Sahu claimed that the houses demolished for the alignment of the ROB project were unauthorised and constructed on encroached land of SER. The ROB project on the busy Howarah-Mumbai main line of SER could not take off for the last two years due to tribal protest. On March 17, work started amid police protection and from that day, a small group of agitators led by Oram was staging protest near the construction site.
Rourkela SP Mukesh K Bhamoo denied allegation of police atrocities. Action was taken against the agitators only after a large crowd defied prohibitory orders on March 28 and tried to forcibly stop work and paralyse the road connecting Jharkhand without having any valid documents to sustain their claims.
“A vast section of people in Bisra favour the project. Police took action only against those who violated laws,” the SP added.