Anti-POSCO agitators decide to release two POSCO officials tonight

Bhubaneswar, May 11 (UNI) Anti-POSCO agitators who took two POSCO officials into hostage decided late tonight to release them following an undertaking from the officials that they will not enter into the proposed project site in future.

POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samittee leaders, who have been agitating against the establishment of the mega steel plant by the POSCO in their area, told UNI over phone that they had decided to release the two officials kept hostage inside a house in Dhinkia village for more than nine hours.

However, the modalities of their release is yet to be worked out.

The agitators have not made up their minds whether to handover the two POSCO officials to the police who were waiting outside the village or to the POSCO officials.

Samittee sources said the two officials would be released latest by 0200 hours after all the formalities were over.

Sources said POSCO Kujang unit receptionists Rosalin Parida, local Public Relations Officer Debashish Swain and Corporate Responsibility Senior Executive Choudhary Pranabandhu Das had gone to Gobindpur village to initiate negotiations with the local villagers to part with their land for the project when they were gheraoed by the anti-POSCO agitators who confined them in a house.

Later, they released Ms Parida and the driver but took Mr Swain and Mr Das to Dhinkia village and kept hostage, demanding an undertaking that no POSCO official would enter into their village in connection with the steel plant project to release the two officials.

POSCO-India while strongly condemning the act of the agitators hinted that they would like to have dialogue with anyone but made a condition that it should be held under normal circumstances.

Soon the Jagatsinghpur district officials started negotiating with the anti-POSCO agitators to release the two POSCO officials.

Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Y Jethwa when contacted said a police jeep has been parked outside the village to pick the two POSCO officials but the two officials were yet to be handed over to the police.

However, indication were there from the anti-POSCO agitators that the two officials would be released by tonight, he said.

UNI