4 killed in bomb explosions in Odisha village opposing Posco project

Paradip, Odisha: Four people were killed when crude bombs exploded in Patana village of Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district today. The village is considered to be a stronghold of groups opposing Posco's mega steel project.

Two others were injured in the explosions.

Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Satyabrat Bhoi said the police are probing the circumstances that led to the blasts.

But anti-Posco agitators alleged the bombs were thrown at them by rival groups supporting the steel project.

"Our people were attacked as they opposed the construction of a road from Patana," Abhay Sahoo, president of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, told the Press Trust of India.

South Korean Steel giant Posco signed an agreement with the Odisha government in 2005, but its project has been delayed because of protests over land acquisition and other bottlenecks.