Anti-Posco group unearths arsenal at school

The anti-Posco group assaulted and locked up one pro-Posco follower Narottam Mohanty, who disclosed the names of persons who allegedly hurled a bomb and killed Dula Mandal, an anti-Posco activist, and others on June 20.

Mohanty allegedly confessed that pro-Posco groups were using a school to store bombs, explosives, ingredients of land mines, swords and other arms. Anti-Posco activists thereafter raided the school and reported they had seized huge cache of arms and explosives.

Mohanty reportedly confessed that bombs were hidden in Gobindpur primary school and that school teachers were aware of it.

Anti-Posco activists then assaulted a school teacher called Jadumani Das who them took the group to the hidden arsenal inside the school campus.

At Gobindpur, anti-Posco activist Dula Mandal was killed in an attack by pro-Posco supporters. After this, anti-Posco activists set two houses of pro-Posco activists on fire, assaulted other project supporters in the village and alleged that the state police were refusing to control anti-Posco followers, resulting in law and order problems in the area.

Anti-Posco activists claimed to have recovered six boxes of bombs, land mines, firearms, 75 swords and other ammunition from the school along with bags supplied by Posco, vests, school kits and other material.

They then called in the Kujang police to seize the arms, bombs and other ammunition.

Anti-Posco group leader Babuli Rout and others alleged Posco supplied bags, school kits and cash to followers to buy support.

Pro-Posco activists blamed the police for not investigating the chopping of palm of one of its supporters by anti-Posco groups 45 days after the incident.

Pro-Posco supporters alleged the police had not even visited the house of the man called Khatua who was being accused of chopping off the palm.

Kujang police led by inspector in charge Anil Mishra and peace committee representatives visited Gobindpur to recover seized arms and bombs.

Mishra said the police was investigating both murder and the palm chopping cases.