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BHUBANESWAR/ KENDRAPADA: After lying low for the last few days, the anti-Posco brigade on Saturday demonstrated its strength by detaining eight policemen visiting one of the villages identified for land acquisition.

Activists of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the outfit spearheading the anti-industry movement, kept the cops hostage for around four hours before releasing them. Nobody was injured.

"We detained eight policemen for four hours as they dared to enter Patna village in Dhinkia gram panchayat (the PPSS’ stronghold) in a jeep. We let them go them after they gave a written undertaking to us not to enter Dhinkia in future," said PPSS president Abhay Sahoo.

Dhinkia in Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district is one of the three gram panchayats alongside Nuagaon and Gadakujanga where the 12 billion US dollars Posco steel project is proposed. After a nine-month gap, the state government on May 18 resumed land acquisition for the project, which is planned over 3700 acre.

"The police party had nothing to do with land acquisition," SP (Jagastinghpur) Debadutt Singh told TOI. "They were on their way to Trilochanpur (close to an oil refinery project) to deal with some labour problem. The driver took the wrong route and villagers detained them for some time," he added. Police filed a case against several anti-land acquisition villagers, including Abhay Sahoo, on charges of detaining policemen.

The development coincided with PPSS supporters holding a public meeting at Patna and reiterating their opposition to land acquisition for the Posco project. "Majority of the villagers are opposing the state government acquiring land for Posco. Some anti-socials in a clear nexus with the police and BJD leaders are trying to enter Dhinkia to acquire betel vines and arrest those resisting their actions," said PPSS general secretary Sisir Mohapatra, who the government has suspended from the post of Dhinkia sarpanch.

The government continued with land acquisition, demolishing 32 betel vines by paying Rs 38 lakh as compensation in Nuagaon and Bhuyanpal. "We acquired betel vines of 32 people and paid them Rs 38 lakh," Erasama block development officer Muralidhar Swain said. The government had earlier this week dismantled a betel vine at Gobindapur, where the project opponents have a strong presence. "Despite opposition from few locals, we are planning to acquire land in Dhinkia gram panchayat," Swain added.