At least three persons were killed and several others injured in a police firing in Tonagatu village in Ramgarh district, about 50 kilometres from Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi.
The incident took place on Monday evening as the locals gathered to protest against a power plant polluting the area. The locals also demanded enhanced pay for working in the plant – Inland Power Limited – established few years back.
“At least 30 people are injured, condition of four are serious,” said Sureshkumar Patel, a farmer of Tonagatu village to The Hindu .
They said that the power plant “completely damaged the bypass road connecting the village to the main road as huge vehicles ply on it round the clock.”
“It has totally polluted the area and the water of the river and many villages are affected,” said Mr Patel.
The workers also demanded a pay hike.
As the workers and the villagers came together to protest on Monday, police opened fire at Tomagatu killing three persons. The death toll may rise, the villagers said.
The incident took place only weeks after Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched a drive to attract investments and claimed that Jharkhand is focussing on “massive uplift” of basic infrastructure to boost investment.
