Villagers refuse to give protester's body for autopsy

Bhubaneswar/Rourkela: Residents of Barkani village near here, who are protesting against a railway line project of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) for around 40 days, have refused to allow police to take the body of Ettua Ekka (40), who died on Saturday, for post-mortem even after more than 32 hours. Villagers continued their protest on Sunday by keeping the body at the site.

On Saturday, when work was underway in the presence of police, RSP and railway personnel, the agitators tried to stop them forcefully. During the process, Ekka died after an earthmover allegedly hit him at 11 am.

Following the death, a clash erupted between the villagers and govt staff. More than 22 people, mostly govt officials and police, were injured. The agitators placed Ekka's body at the protest site and continued their agitation. On Sunday, hundreds of people from seven villages, including Barkani, joined the protest.

They demanded the govt should return unused land for the project and provide compensation. They threatened that they would not allow the body to be taken unless their demand is fulfilled. Brijesh Kumar Rai, DIG (western range), said eight platoons of police forces deployed at the site and all steps taken to maintain law and order.

"After 24 hours, the body will start to decompose. Heat helps in the process. In this case, the body would have started decaying," said LK Behera, a FMT consultant of Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar.

"We were staging a peaceful protest against the railway work the past 40 days, but nobody paid heed to our pleas. Death of our fellow protester hurt us. We cannot forget his sacrifice," said Jagannath Sahu, a leader of the protesters, adding, "We all have been displaced by RSP and we have been demanding the return of our unused and unutilised land."

"They killed my husband by running the earthmover over him. He lost his life demanding our land back. I also demand the same. I need compensation to look after my kids," said Ekka's wife.

SP (Rourkela), Nitesh Wadhwani, said a case has been registered against the protesters for assaulting police personnel and officials, and for damaging vehicles on Saturday. Though the administration made efforts to discuss the issue with the irate villagers, they refused and demanded a written assurance from the govt that their land will be returned.

Bijay Kumar Nayak, sub-collector, Panposh, said the land on which the railway tracks are being built belongs to RSP. "Though we made an effort for a discussion with the locals on Sunday, they refused to listen," he said.

Birmitrapur and Rajgangpur MLAs, Rohit Joseph Tirkey (BJD) and C S Raazen Ekka (Congress), respectively, have gone to the site and extended their support to the protesters. State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das demanded Rs 1 crore compensation and a job for the next of kin of the deceased. He demanded the govt to hear the protesters' plea and solve the issue before starting work.