Day after violence, Section 144 clamped near ESL plant in Jharkhand

Bokaro administration has imposed prohibitory orders in a 5km radius of the place where a clash between villagers and cops took place on Monday, an official said.

Around 12 people including some policemen were injured in the clash that took place outside the main gate of ESL Steel Limited, a Vedanta Group company, in Jharkhand's Siyaljori, around 140km from Ranchi.

The clash took place after the villagers, who were staging a dharna outside the company's gate demanding jobs for unemployed youths of the area, allegedly tried to enter the premises of the company when they were stopped by the firm's security men.

Later, when police personnel were deployed to bring the situation under control, villagers pelted stones at them in which several cops were injured. A number of villagers also sustained injuries when police used mild lathi-charge to disperse them.

On Tuesday, former Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee launched an indefinite agitation in the area with the support of villagers to press for their demand.

Chas sub-divisional officer (SDO) Dilip Kumar Singh Sekhawat said security forces have been deployed in the plant area.

"As a precautionary measure, Section 144 CrPC was imposed in a 5km radius of the plant gate on Tuesday evening," he said.

According to a company official, the plant's production dipped by 70 per cent on Tuesday.