Congress demands release of locals in JK Lakshmi arson case

Chhattisgarh unit of Congress today demanded that those arrested in connection with arson at JK Lakshmi Cement plant should be released.
"In the light of Chief Minister Raman Singh's statement that outsiders were responsible for the incident, there is no reason to keep the locals in custody," state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel said in a statement.
Local police can not detain the villagers when government had asked an Additional Director General-level officer to conduct a probe, he said, alleging that villagers were beaten up by police.
Citing JK Lakshmi Cement Director Shailendra Chouksey's statement that company would not give jobs to the farmers whose lands were acquired through brokers, Patel said, "This was a confirmation of a repeat of Bhadora land scam; it was clear that lands were purchased at low rates by government-protected brokers.

Locals set on fire a part of under-construction plant of JK Lakshmi Cement at Malpur-Khurd in Durg district on April 4, angered by the company's reported reluctance to give jobs to project-affected persons.
Forty agitators, including their leader Virendra Kurrey, are in custody.