Jharkhand opposition party members to court arrest tomorrow

Ranchi, August 3: Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi today said all the opposition parties would court arrest at Barkagaon in Hazaribagh district tomorrow in protest against cases lodged against over 400 people on July 24 last.

Addressing a public meeting, the former chief minister said leaders of the political parties would go to Barkagaon tomorrow and proceed to the police station to court arrest.

FIRs were lodged at Pakri Barwadih under Barkagaon police station against Marandi himself, Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay, Barkagaon MLA Nirmala Devi of Congress and RJD's state unit president Goutam Sagar Rana, besides 450 others for entering the protected mining areas at Chirudih without prior permission from the district administration, the police and the NTPC authorities on July 24 last.

Hazaribagh SP Bhimsen Tuti had on July 30 said that the FIRs were lodged at Barkagaon police station under various sections of the IPC for trespassing and also threatening NTPC authorities to stop coal mining in the area, failing which the political parties had warned that they would launch an indefinite agitation in the coal mining areas of the NTPC from August 11.

Marandi said the people in Barkagaon have been agitating against land acquisition since 2004.

PTI