Bhusan execs held for clash with villagers

The Dhenkanal police has arrested nine persons, including five senior officials of the Bhusan steel plant.

The arrests follow a clash between villagers and security personnel yesterday, over the construction of a boundary wall of the steel plant located at Meramundali in Dhenkanal, Orissa.

The clash has left seven villagers injured. They were hurt when security guards of Bhusan Steel and Strips opened fire and hurled bombs at them, sources said.

The persons arrested are Bhusan Steel's senior Vice-President Paras Singh, Assistant General Manager Ramayan Upadhyay, Senior Manager (industrial relation) Sandip Behera, Senior Manager Naveen Singh and Security Officer Bana Bihari Nayak.

The residents of Sarapa and Raghunathpur villages, near the Bhusan steel plant, were opposing the construction of boundary wall around the 1,700-acre area acquired by the company since last year as they felt it would block the road that is their only link to the national highway.

Tension had been brewing in the area for the past few months after villagers prevented the company personnel from building the wall. The villagers had even drawn the attention of the district administration to the issue.