Statesman News Service reported that the activists of POSCO Pratirodha Sangram Samiti which has been spearheading anti POSCO movement are now working overtime to ensure release of their leader and Mr Abhaya Sahu President of PPSS.

As per report, all possible sorts of tactics are now being adopted by the PPSS men to free Mr Sahu. By hook or by crook seems to be the mantra being adopted by them. While in some cases negotiation has been started with the pro POSCO people for their support in releasing him, in some other cases the project supporters are intimidated.

Sources said that some anti project activists allegedly abducted as many as 5 POSCO supporters on Friday in a bid to force them withdraw their complaint against Mr Sahu. The 5 were reportedly forced to put their signatures on a compromise petition. Mr Pradip Satpathy managed to flee from the spot and informed the villagers and police. Nonetheless, the remaining 4 are still detained by the PPSS members.

Sources said after Mr Sahoo’s arrest, hundreds of project supporters of Dhinkia, Gobindpur, Nuagaon, Gadkujanga have thrown their weights behind PPSS as they too have started opposing the land acquisition process. Taking this opportunity, the PPSS men are persuading the erstwhile project supporters to withdraw their complaints against Mr Sahu and sign the compromise petitions. Reliable sources admitted this methodology has yielded and some of them have submitted petitions in this regard.

The PPSS activists have succeeded, to a great degree, in convincing the previous project supporters that the administration and police are worried only for land acquisition for the company and not for the to-be displaced villagers.

Mr Sahu was nabbed on October 12th at Dhinkia, on his way back to his bastion. At least two dozen cases are registered against him. His bail petitions have been rejected thrice in the courts of the JMFC and additional district and sessions judge, Jagatsinghpur prompting his supports thinking of some other way.