Rourkela: All the 224 persons including
independent MLA George Tirkey were today granted conditional
bail by a local court, three days after being arrested while
staging road blockade on NH-23 at Lathikata near here.
Sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) S Sujata
granted bail to Tirkey and others, lodged at the special jail
here, on the condition that they would not stage road blockade
and would maintain peace in the area.
The conditional bail was granted on a bond of Rs 5,000
each and one surety.
Led by Tirkey, legislator from Biramitrapur in
Sundargarh district, workers of a refractory unit and their
family members had blocked the NH-23 at Lathikata when they
were arrested as police cleared the blockade on Friday.
Subsequently, 156 of them were released and 224
protesters including Tirkey had been sent to jail in judicial
custody.
Meanwhile, several workers and their family members
had started a fresh road blockade yesterday at Lathikata in
support of the demand for payment of wages to Orind workers
for the last 14 months and payment of statutory benefit to
retired, deceased and resigned employees.
A lockout had been declared in May in the factory
where production had stopped several months ago with
workers claiming non-payment of wages and other dues for last
14 months.
PTI
