Congress demands impartial probe into blast in Posco area

Expressing shock at death of 3 people in bomb explosion at proposed Posco plant site, Congress asked Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take effective steps to prevent `bloodbath` in area.

Bhubaneswar: Expressing shock at the death of three people in a bomb explosion at the proposed Posco plant site, Congress on Sunday asked Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take effective steps to prevent `bloodbath` in the area and shift the proposed project elsewhere. "The Chief Minister should show some concern for the loss of human lives. We are saddened by the plight of people who continue to suffer due to the apathy of the state government. This must end," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said in a statement.

"We have said earlier also, and we repeat, shift the plant site to another nearby locality which is not too far away from the present one and is also vacant," he said. Congress has always maintained this and last month a 17-member delegation had submitted a memorandum to Governor M C Bhandare demanding immediate steps to stop alleged police atrocities and `goondaraj` of ruling BJD activists, Patnaik said. The state government has failed to keep its promise that there would not be forcible acquisition of land for the steel project and the administration has been evicting people with the help of police, the OPCC chief said. The Congress leader also asked police to refrain from accusing people before it has conducted a preliminary inquiry. "Please conduct an inquiry before you accuse people," Patnaik said. 3 anti-project activists were killed on Saturday while allegedly making bombs. PTI