An injured labourer at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Monday. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Paradip, July 2: Violence flared up at the Rs 29,900-crore Paradip Oil Refinery project site today, leaving 10 persons, including two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) men and five contract labourers, injured. The workers sustained bullet injuries as the CISF men had to open fire when things went out of control.

The violence was triggered when a group of labourers tried to force their way into the site. Labour unrest has marred work at the site for past sometime. Security at the site has been beefed up with additional deployment of police and the CISF.

Trouble started when a lorry and an oil tanker entered the site through gate No. 4. A group of over 100 labourers followed the vehicles, but the CISF men on duty stopped them as they did not have valid permits. This infuriated the workers and the crew members of lorries and tankers in the area.

A mob of contract labourers suddenly attacked a few CISF personnel and beat them up. The mob snatched away the service gun of a CISF jawan and went on a rampage, destroying property, including the securitymen’s rest sheds. An assistant commandant and a CISF inspector were also injured.

The CISF men retaliated by opening fire, which left five labourers injured. “The security personnel were forced to open fire. It was an act of self-defence. Had the CISF men not resorted to firing, they would have fallen victim to mob violence,” said CISF commandant S.S. Mishra.

Revenue divisional commissioner (central) Aurobind Padhee said inspector general of police (IG) Arun Ray had rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation which, he said, was under control.

The injured labourers, who sustained bullet wounds, were identified as Tusar Rout, Ramesh Rout, Kailash Das, Prafulla Majhi and Kabir Nath. They were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. “It was a preplanned attack as a similar clash had taken place yesterday,” said Kabir.

Subhas Moharana, who runs a small hotel near the project site, alleged that the security personnel even fired on the labourers present in his hotel at the time.

Local MLA and former minister Damodor Rout said: “The situation has aggravated as a handful of contractors are trying to dictate terms in awarding contracts of the refinery work.” He also pointed an accused finger at Bapi Sarkel, a known trade union leader of the area, who was arrested last year in connection with Posco project related violence.

Demanding a CBI inquiry into the incident, Rout said: “Only such an inquiry can reveal the truth. The work at the refinery site is sub-standard.”

“The firing was unprovoked. The unarmed labourers were targeted by the CISF men as the workers earlier had protested against their atrocities,” said Satosh Pattnaik, a trade unionist.

“The recurring lawlessness and activities of the self-styled trade unions have hindered smooth progress of the oil refinery project of Indian Oil Corporation Limited,” said Sangram Mishra, deputy manager (corporate communications) of the Indian Oil.

The state government is also mulling over clamping prohibition on strikes and agitation, being staged frequently at the project site, to expedite its completion.

“Trade union rivalry is triggering major disturbances. In the past 18 months, about 26 incidents of violence have been reported at the project site. The majority of these were instigated by trade unions,” said Shantanu Kumar Das, sub-divisional police officer, Paradip.