Nine persons, including a photo-journalist, were injured during a clash between contract workers and security personnel at one of the several Tata Steel plant gates at Jamshedpur on Monday morning.

Tata Steel said security personnel had to open fire as the situation went out of control.

According to a Tata Steel spokesperson, “pellet firing by our security personnel took place to bring the unruly mob under control. Five persons, including a photojournalist, were injured. All of them are being treated at Tata Main Hospital (TMH) and they are out of danger”.

Complaints filed

The City Superintendent of Police, Akhilesh Jha, told Business Line over the phone that arrest warrants were issued against two security personnel who had allegedly opened fire.

“Two FIRs had been filed at the Burmamines police station of the city — one by the people injured in the firing and the other by Tata Steel, for damage to property at the plant area,” the Jamshedpur City SP added.

In a written statement, the Tata Steel spokesperson said: “Several miscreants tried to enter the works forcefully at the time of entry of contractors’ workers in the morning. They broke the gate and jumped over the boundary walls to enter the Works. When confronted, the mob suddenly turned violent, injured 15-20 of our security personnel, damaged cars, burnt two-wheelers and damaged company property inside the works”, the statement added.

Transport rule

According to police, trouble started at the parking lots at the plant’s Auction Yard gate, when the security personnel insisted that the contract workers leave their bicycles there and take a bus to get inside the plant.

The spokesperson said the company had been “attempting to gradually implement this” (arrangement) at the Auction Yard gate for the past week. “This initiative was aimed at making the equipment stores near the gate more secure from consistent attempts of theft by miscreants”, the statement said.

> jayanta.mallick@thehindu.co.in

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