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Odisha anti-mining activist alleges he was kidnapped ahead of press meet, demands probe
The activist said he has sent his FIR by post and claimed that if police are not involved, they must investigate the perpetrators behind the incident
Anti-mining activist Prafulla Samantara, who had gone missing from his hotel room in Rayagada district on Tuesday afternoon was found at his home in Berhampur town later on Wednesday evening, an incident he alleged was staged by the Odisha government.
Samantara, the winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2017, had reportedly gone to address a press conference in Rayagada organised by the local unit of Youth Congress against bauxite mining in the area when he went missing after being allegedly picked up from the hotel by four unidentified men. He was found at his house in Berhampur town of Ganjam district at around 9:30pm on Wednesday.
“My hands were tied, and mouth gagged by four people. I was taken in a car from Rayagada and dropped in Berhampur. It seems the state government is acting as a puppet in the hands of some companies. Yesterday’s incident was a clear case of state terrorism by the government for corporate interest. There has been a breach of my rights and I need justice as there has been mental and physical torture,” he alleged. Samantara said the kidnappers snatched his mobile, tied his hands and covered his face with a towel.
The activist said he has sent his FIR by post and claimed that if police are not involved, they must investigate the perpetrators behind the incident.
In Rayagada, public resentment has been on the rise against mining in Sijimali bauxite mines where Vedanta was declared as the preferred bidder in February this year. The block, with estimated reserves of 311 million tonne of bauxite, is expected to be a strategic fit for Vedanta which has a refinery in Lanjigarh area of Kalahandi district.
Vedanta’s alumina refinery suffered a major blow after the Supreme Court in 2011 did not give the company the go-ahead to mine the Niyamgiri bauxite mines in Kalahandi-Rayagada.
Rayagada SP Vivekanand Sharma, meanwhile, said that if an FIR is filed, the police will investigate the matter.
