Orissa's tribals stage protest against arrest of their villagers

Mundatoli (Orissa), Sep 10 (ANI): Hundreds of tribals blocked the road near Mundatoli village of Orissa on Wednesday demanding release of 30 persons arrested by the police on charges of being Maoists.

The tribals alleged that the police have arrested innocent villagers from Sundergarh district.amily members of the arrested persons were demanding the immediate release of their relatives. Also a team of human rights activists were present to support the protest of tribal.

Biramitrapur MLA, George Tirkey who led the protest said that if the government does not release the arrested persons they would continue their agitation for an indefinite period.

"We condemn the arrest. We want the government, district administration and the police to stop the injustice committed on innocent persons and want it to stop. We want them to send back those 30 persons to our villages or else we will continue our indefinite protest," Tirkey added.

Many vehicles were left stranded on both sides of the road causing problems for people travelling on the National Highway.

"Because of the road block we are facing a lot of problems. The movement has been restricted. Nobody can move even if they have an emergency work. We cannot go back home nor can we carry on with our work," said Pradeep Das, a commuter.

Orissa is one of the five Maoists infested states. Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of landless labourers and poor and landless farmers.

To check the menace of Maoists, the Orissa Police in Rourkela has adopted the strategy of ambush at various locations in which personnel of the Special Operation Group (SOG) and the CRPF have taken part. (ANI)