Anti-POSCO agitators keep POSCO officials as hostage

Bhubaneswar, May 11 (UNI) Anti-POSCO agitators today took two POSCO officials into hostage protesting against their entry into the proposed project sites and trying to convince the local people in favour of the mega steel plant.

Official sources said POSCO Kujang unit receptionists Rosalin Parida, Local Public Relation Officer Debashish Swain and Corporate Responsibility Senior Executive Choudhary Pranabandhu Das had gone to Gobindpur village to initiate negotiation with the local villagers to part with their land for the project.

Unaware of the presence of the anti-POSCO agitators, the three officials had a wordy duel with the villagers, who gheraoed them and damaged the vehicle.

They later took the three officials and the driver and confined them in a house in the village.

However, after a few hours, the agitators released Ms Rosalin Parida and the driver but took the two other officials to Dhinkia village and kept them hostage in the village.

When contacted POSCO Pratorodh Sangram Samittee president Abhaya Sahu said they will not release the two POSCO officials unless and until the POSCO management gave an undertaking that they would not enter into the three panchayats - Gadakujang, Nuagaon and Dhinkia, the proposed site of Rs.51,000 crore steel project of South Korea Steel major POSCO, in future.

The situation in the Dhinkia village was described as tense.

Police were yet to enter into the village to rescue the POSCO officials as the anti-POSCO agitators had put up barricades at several places preventing the entry of the government officials into their area.

UNI