From our Staff Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, Feb 25: For the third consecutive day, work at the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh district remained stalled today following the picking up of seven workers including the secretary of BCPL workers’ union, Nitul Rabidas, by the police for interrogation. However, three of them were released after preliminary investigation and remaining others were forwarded to court. The three workers, Jantu Phukan, Hemanta Phukan and Tarun Phukan, arrested earlier by the police on February 23 were released on bail.
The situation at the work site of the BCPL remained tense but under control. The Deputy Commissioner Gyanendra Dev Tripathi has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and asked the Additional Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar to conduct the inquiry and submit his findings within a week.
The DC and SP Abhijit Bora visited the work site of the BCPL in the morning today and reviewed the security aspects as well as the law and order situation.
Meanwhile, on request of BCPL authority, a full section of police force under a sub-inspector was deployed at various work sites of the BCPL in order to ensure protection of workers.
The arrest of Sunil Rabidas and six others workers by police today caused much anger among the workers. More than two hundred workers took part in the protest meeting held at the Lepetkata Puja playground. The meeting chaired by the president of BCPL Shramik Suraksha Samity, Heramba Sonowal, resolved to submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, demanding the release of Sunil Rabidas and others. A delegation of the Shramik Suraksha Samity later met him and the SP at Barbaruah Police Station and handed over the memorandum. The delegation strongly demanded stern action against Chief Resident Officer Radha Krishna Das, Manager Appa Rao and Coordinator NK Agarwalla of the RVR company for their role in intimidating  and assaulting the local workers and unconditional release of all those arrested by the police.
Meanwhile, the BCPL authority has thrown out all three officials of RVR from the work site for their alleged role in the recent development. A section of workers told this reporter that all three RVR officials managed to slip out of the BCPL campus in consultation with the authority just to evade the possible arrest. It may be recalled that the workers lodged a complaint against these three officials in the local Barbaruah Police Station for their anti-Assam and anti-Assamese role in recent development on February 23.
However, the irate workers and the members of several students and youth organizations have welcomed the BCPL authority’s decision to throw out the three senior officials of the RVR Company.
The appeals of the Dibrugarh DC and SP to irate local workers to restart the construction work from tomorrow had little effect as they have expressed their determination to continue their cease work until the police authority released all workers from the jail unconditionally.
With the authority of BCPL and the concerned contracting company not forthcoming on the issue, their cause appears to be advocated by the district administration.
In a press statement issued by the District Information and Public Relation Officer, it seeks to blame some local people and what it termed as antisocial element for the riot like situation. Acting as the spokesperson of the BCPL the press release claimed that out of the four thousand seven hundred skilled, semiskilled and unskilled manpower are presently employed out of the projected total requirement of eight thousand. The release further claimed that of these four thousand seven hundred, only nine per cent of the manpower are imported from outside. The press release also called upon all to provide a conducive environment to complete what it terms as a prestigious project without any delay.