Raipur: 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 cannot 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.
PTI
