Parts of the boundary wall of a sponge iron plant were pulled down by a mob at Laing in Odisha's Sundargarh district alleging illegal encroachment of tribal land by the unit, police said today.
The demonstrators made a vain attempt to barge into the plant, located under the jurisdiction of Rajgangpur police station, after bringing down some portions of the compound wall in patches yesterday, they said.
The protesters staged a sit-in alleging that the unit had illegally encroached upon tribal land, the police said.
On getting information, senior officials rushed to the site and police personnel in strength were deployed near the plant to restore normalcy and prevent any untoward incident, a police officer said.
Police took steps to defuse the situation, while 52 protestors were detained, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Kavita Jalan.
"We spoke to them, but many of them were actually not sure for what there were agitating and none of them belonged to the area," said the DIG.
"The situation is now under control. Police force will remain in the area for some time till everything becomes normal. Further investigation is on to ascertain what really led to such a situation," Jalan said.
A senior official of the sponge iron plant said "we are here for the last 25 years and we never have any issues with the locals for any reason. We have established a very cordial relations with the locals. This is for the first time that such an incident has taken place here.
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