Bhubaneswar, Nov. 27: Tension simmered in Jajpur district last evening when more than 600 villagers gheraoed the police station in Kalinganagar Industrial Complex to protest the arrest of some local tribals.

Yesterday, police had arrested three tribal leaders who were to take part in the November 30 anti-displacement meeting organised by Kalinganagar Visthapita Sangha, a frontal organisation of villagers.

The Kalinganagar complex, located in Duburi, is expected to emerge as a major industrial hub with as many as 17 companies signing memorandums of understanding with the government to set up steel units there.

Jajpur superintendent of police Vinaytosh Mishra said the three villagers were arrested on charges of extorting money from truck drivers for the meeting.

On hearing the news of the arrests, tribals from Chandia, Baligoth and Ugraghati villages blocked roads and gheraoed the police station to press their demand for the trio?s release. ?We were under siege for more than five hours. They did not allow anyone to enter or leave the police station,? said inspector-in-charge Kailash Parida.

District collector Saswat Mishra, who had rushed to the police station, was forced to remain indoors till almost 10 pm along with the SP. Outside, the protesters burnt tyres.

Adivasi leader Ramchandra Jamuda alleged that the police arrested their colleagues arbitrarily. ?They were only distributing leaflets in support of the November 30 meeting, which is now being described as extortion. The police are vilifying us needlessly,? he said.

The villagers relented around 9.45 pm when they realised that the arrested men had been forwarded to judicial custody. Before leaving, they raised slogans and warned of serious action if adequate rehabilitation measures were not adopted.

Though the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) had paid compensation to the families displaced by the existing units, the villagers are sore over the dearth of employment prospects.

For example, only 180 families of the 600 ousted by Nilachal Ispat?s unit have been provided jobs. Similarly, Mesco is yet to keep its promise of giving jobs to at least one member each of the affected families.

?With companies such as Nilachal Ispat and Mesco not honouring their promise, the Adivasis are not sure if the owners of the proposed steel projects will employ them,? said SP Mishra. As a result, most of the tribals are yet to vacate the land acquired by Idco.

The threat of displacement without proper rehabilitation and loss of ancestral land have made the local villagers, mostly tribals, look at the region?s industrialisation with suspicion. They have been warning for long that the bhumi puja for the proposed steel units will not be allowed to take place until the authorities met their demands.

On May 9, around 300 tribals and Dalits were lathicharged for opposing the bhumi puja for the 2-lakh-tonne Maharashtra Seamless Steel project, one which is expected to displace more 6,000 people in 13 villages.

The state authorities had claimed that some local criminals were instigating the Adivasis in their bid to disrupt industrial activities.