People protest against PPSS chief Abhay Sahu’s arrest on Saturday at Dhinkia village. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Nov. 26: A day after the arrest of Abhay Sahu, who heads the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the outfit spearheading a popular agitation against Posco’s mega steel plant, things are back on the boil in the project area.

The situation is tense in villages of Dhinkia gram panchayat, which has so far remained out of bounds for government authorities and steel company personnel.

“Law-enforcing agencies are ready to face the situation. Any form of lawlessness will be dealt with strictly. We are keeping a close watch on the situation. Things are normal in Dhinkia at the moment apart from stray protests by supporters of Sahu,” said Suresh Devidatta Singh, superintendent of police, Jagatsinghpur.

Describing Sahu as a law breaker, the SP said PPSS had unleashed a reign of terror, inflicting physical and mental torture on those supporting the steel project.

Abhay Sahu, president, PPSS, who was arrested last night, was sent to Kujang Jail. Arrangements were being made to shift him to Choudwar Circle Jail near Cuttack city for security reasons.

Sahu was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code besides section 3 of the Prevention of Atrocity against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Act. Sahu was earlier arrested by Paradip police on 12 October, 2010, and had spent over 10 months in jail before getting bail from Orissa High Court.

Security is being stepped up in and around the project villages in view of mounting tension. Wooden barriers are back to stop the entry of officials into the resistance movement hotspots.

Round-the-clock vigil by villagers has been intensified while customary gong-beaters are back on the job to alert the villagers.

Registering their protest against what they described as the arbitrary arrest of the PPSS chief, people in Dhinkia, the epicentre of the resistance movement against the South Korean steel maker, today took out rallies to express solidarity with the anti-Posco movement.

“The government has authored a well-orchestrated conspiracy to weaken PPSS and demoralise those against Posco. The arbitrary arrest of Sahu is part of this ploy,” said Sisir Kumar Mahapatra, general secretary, PPSS.

Mahapatra said the arrest would backfire. “It has united the people to fight against injustice. People here have vowed to fight till the steel maker beats a hasty retreat from this place,” he said.

While Sahu’s arrest has left anti-Posco activists demoralised, the pro-Posco outfits are happy with the development.

“It’s a timely step by the law enforcing agencies. It was long overdue. Sahu was terrorising people in Dhinkia by using strong-arm tactics. Yesterday, a few hours before his arrest, the PPSS chief had ordered his supporters to stop some Posco-transit colony families from returning to their ancestral land. About 25 families who were moving to their native Gobindpur village after nearly three years of exile were forcefully prevented entry,” said Nirvaya Samantaray, general secretary, United Action Committee, a pro-Posco outfit.

Sahu’s arrest is being seen as a drastic measure in the lead up to the resumption of project work at about 2,000 acres of land already acquired for the steel project. PPSS chief Sahu, who mobilised people to resist the project work, was apparently a thorn in the flesh of government agencies.

The top bosses of Posco-India had paid a surprise visit last month to assess the ground realities of the acquired land.