Four killed, dozens injured as police fire on NTPC protestors in Jharkhand

RANCHI: Four civilians were killed and dozens of others–including police and administrative officials–were injured when police opened fire on people demanding suspension of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) mining sites in Barkagaon, on the outskirts of Hazaribag, on Saturday morning at 5am. A clash between the police and the protestors sparked the firing.
Led by Barkagaon MLA Nirmala Devi and her husband Yogendra Sahu people whose lands were acquired for NTPC project were sitting on a dharna ‘Kafan Satyagrah’ since September 15 with the demands for suspension of mining activities because the company has not kept its promises made during land acquisition.
The clashes began when policemen, with orders from top officers, detained Nirmala Devi to end the protests. The protestors were thrashed when they resisted. A team of policemen with ASP Kuldeep Kumar and circle officer (CO) Satendra Kumar taking the detained MLA away to Hazaribag town was ambushed midway by 150-odd villagers.
“The villagers attacked the vehicles taking the MLA away with stones and batons and managed to free the MLA. They detained ASP and CO and brutally thrashed them. The policemen had no option but to open fire,” said IG operations and police spokesperson M S Bhatia.
The clashes left 18 policemen injured; ASP and CO sustained critical injuries. The protestors torched two police vehicles before escaping from the site.
One villager hit in the chest died on the spot while three succumbed to bullet injuries at a government hospital later. More than a dozen injured villagers were admitted to Sadar hospital. The government officials were earlier admitted to the same hospital but were airlifted to Medica in Ranchi – the villagers were not given similar attention.
The deceased were identified as Md Mehtab, Ranjan Kumar Das, Abhishake Kumar Rai (who died on the spot) and Rajesh Sao. The exact number of injured varies between 12 to 20. A source in Hazaribag said the injured are Nainul Verma, Amit Ram, Md Israel, Md Nizam, Mansur Alam, Deoki Ram, Kailash Ram, Rahmat Ali, Zainutnidda, Dulari Devi, Basanti Devi and Sahdeo Razak. Some people who sustained minor injuries have preferred to remain underground fearing police reprisal.
Besides ASP and CO, assistant sub inspector Amit Singh, poliice constables Mobil Ram, Krishna Sao, Anil Singh,, and Sunil Kumar were also injured. Only four critically injured government officials were brought to Ranchi for treatment.
An injured Vikas Kumar (25), who was hit by a bullet in his thigh, said police arrived at the dharna site in the morning and started beating the protestors. “They opened fire when were tried to resist. The people who begged for mercy with folded hands were shot from close range,” he said. A minor Amit Kumar (15) said he was going home after relieving himself in the field when police shot at his waist.
“They were brutal with guns. They shot at people without a tinge of regards for human rights. They were more brutal than the British,” Kumar said.
The people were demanding payment of compensation to the displaced villagers as per the provision of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act and employment to each of the displaced persons.

A policeman is being brought to a private hosptial in Ranchi after clashes between police and villagers in Barkagaon.
"The protests had crippled the work of the NTPC. NTPC had to take heavy machines inside the work area. We made numerous attempts in the last 15 days to convince the protestors to end the dharna but they did not budge. There was no other way to end the dharna but to detain the MLA,” said a police officer who is not authorized to speak to the media.
The death in the firing sparked more protests. People blocked Barkagaon-Hazaribag road where they protested with the dead bodies. The protestors demanded arrest of Hazaribag deputy commissioner and district SP and compensation to the kin of those killed and injured in police firing.
IG Bhatia said prohibitory orders were clamped at the site after the incident.
Both Devi and her husband and former minister Yogendra Sao have been fighting for the displaced people for a long time. NTPC was given the mines in 2010. The displacement of hundreds of villagers has attracted RJD, JVM-P and Congress in July this year. Together they held a huge protest at the site, but it failed to get the displaced any benefits.
Union minister Jayant Sinha, who is Hazaribag MP, besides leaders from Congress, JVM-P, RJD and JMM condemned the firing. JVM-P chief Babulal Marandi demanded judicial inquiry into the firing and suspension of work till the inquiry is over.