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Firing at Gas Cracker site

By Bureau

DIBRUGARH, March 2 � One person was shot dead and at least four others were seriously injured when CISF security personnel opened fire on workers at the Gas Cracker Project site at Lepetkata here this afternoon.

The worker who was shot dead has been identified as Mintu Orang. He was working for Simplex, one of the major contractors at the sprawling 3,300 bigha project site.

At least four other workers were seriously injured in the CISF firing. They are, Golap Saikia, Nitul Gogoi, Dhiren Panging and Anuj Gogoi. According to Girin Gogoi, president of the BCPL Sub-Contractors� Association, it is feared that several others suffered minor injuries in the CISF action, but were not admitted to hospital.

According to information gathered by this newspaper, trouble started to brew at the Gas Cracker site this afternoon around 1-30 when one worker wanted to go to his barrack earlier than usual. He was rudely prevented from doing so by the CISF. This triggered a heated exchange of words and attracted the attention of other workers. As the crowd swelled, the situation went out of control and the CISF then resorted to firing. The seriously injured had bullet injuries on their legs and lower bodies, while a bullet pierced the chest of Mintu Orang and went out through his back, killing him on the way to hospital.

Following today�s incident, all work at the Gas Cracker Project site has come to a standstill. The project�s chief operation officer and managing director-designate, Prabhu Nath Prasad did not respond to calls for his version of today�s developments.

Workers and sundry visitors to the Rs 10,000 crore Assam Gas Cracker project site have often been complaining of the highhandedness of CISF personnel deputed to the project. Most of them do not even speak in Assamese, complicating matters. Moreover, workers too are not allowed to go out of the project site before 5 pm unless there is a compelling reason. This has been a bone of contention for the workers.

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