Bhubaneswar: A group clash erupted at Dhinkia village under Erasama block in Jagatsinghpur district during a visit of a 5-member committee of Orissa High Court on Saturday.
A social activist and a leader, who also visited the place, were reportedly heckled in presence of the police and the committee members.
The committee has visited Dhinkia today to probe the alleged police atrocities committed on the villagers who are opposing land acquisition for a proposed steel plant by Jindal Steel Works (JSW).
It is pertinent to mention here that two separate petitions have been filed in the High Court seeking an independent and impartial probe into the police excesses on the locals at Dhinkia village during land acquisition for the proposed JSW project.
On January 20, a division bench of the High Court comprising of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice RK Patnaik while conducting a hearing on the PIL filed by one Kuni Mallick and four others seeking a probe by a committee comprising of a retired Judge of the High Court, social activists and members of the civil society into the police atrocities committed on the residents of Dhinkia, directed the State government to file its counter in the matter.
On January 31, Jagatsinghpur Collector filed a status report in the Orissa High Court on the ground situation in Dhinkia village. Subsequently, the High Court had asked the petitioners to file their counter to the status report submitted by the government.
Dhinkia village is the proposed site of a 13.2 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant JSW. During land acquisition for the proposed JSW project on January 14 at Dhinkia village, a face-off between villagers and police had left more than two dozen villagers and five policemen injured.
