Anti-Posco protest at Dhinkia in Jagatsinghpur (File picture)

Paradip, July 10: Office bearers of the United Action Committee, a pro-plant outfit, today claimed to have received threat letters from Maoists asking them to oppose the land acquisition and project related work in the Posco steel plant project area.

However, sub-divisional police officer Shantanu Kumar Das said: “We heard about receipt of such letters. But, we are yet to be officially intimated by the recipients of these letters. However, the matter is being investigated by the district police.”

Prominent office bearers of United Action Committee today confirmed that they had received separate letters purportedly issued by the Maoists. The letters, written in red letters in Oriya, have asked the pro-Posco body to stop supporting the project and warned of dire consequence if they defied the diktat.

“Warning letters issued by the suspected Maoists have been received through post by UAC working president Dhirendra Pallai, Nuagaon panchayat samiti member Soumendra Nayak, Gadakujang sarpanch Nakul Sahu and UAC member Jiban Lal Behera The matter was discussed in an emergency meeting today.

“Tomorrow, we will lodge a police complaint,” said UAC general secretary Nirvay Samantaray.

Moreover, Maoist posters were found in many public places at Erasama block on March 7.

The literature was more or less the same as those received by the UAC office bearers and the local panchayat representatives. The police had then probed into authenticity of those literature. However, the investigation had drawn a blank.

Incidentally, the Posco project area under Erasama block is home to prominent Maoist leader Dushmanta alias Mangu Biswal. In September 2008, the police unearthed the Maoist’s network and link in Jagatsinghpur. Around eight Maoist cadres were then arrested by the district police of Raghunathpur police station area.

In another development, the district administration is all set to resume project-related work tomorrow after a two-day break.

Detention of five employees of state-run Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Posco by the villagers for three hours on Friday has made the administration go for strategy rethink for project work. Those either involved or engaged in project-related work have been asked to stay in groups flanked by policemen.

On the other hand, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity, the outfit which has been spearheading the agitation against the Posco venture, today continued their human barricade stir at Nuagaon-Dhinkia border.

A 15-member team of physicians, comprising psychiatric experts from Bengal, today visited Dhinkia, Gobindpur villages to take stock of the mental health of people locked in a six-year-long resistance movement against the steel project.

“We conducted mental health check-ups in villages. We diagnosed some cases of mental illness caused as side effects of the prolonged movement. The loss of livelihood and land has made people jittery.

“The loss of principal income sources generated from betel vines is having its debilitating effect of mental health on sections of betel farmers,” said Mohit Randeep, who headed the 18-member medical team from Bengal.