Nine persons, including two women, were killed and 17 were injured following a clash between villagers opposing a steel project and the police in Kalinga Nagar of Jajpur district Monday, official sources said.

The toll might be 13 as four bodies, suspected to have been victims of the violence, were still in the custody of the villagers who were squatting on the Daitari-Paradip expressway, the sources said.

Curfew had been imposed in the Kalinga Nagar area following the violent incidents.

About 1,000 people, mostly tribals, belonging to Chandia, Champakoila and Gobarghati villages near the upcoming industrial hub had allegedly attacked the police while protesting against the earth work started by Tata Steel [Get Quote].

The situation aggravated when the crowd allegedly hacked a police havildar G P Mohanty to death.

Director General of Police Suchit Das told PTI that police lathicharged, burst teargas squibs and fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd without any effect.

Police then opened fire in which five persons were killed on the spot. One of the injured died on way to hospital at Cuttack while two persons succumbed to injuries at hospital.

Senior officials were tightlipped about the number of casualties as four bodies, possibly victims of the firing, were with the villagers squatting on the Daitari-Paradip expressway.

If those are taken into account, the toll is 13.

A PTI correspondent, who visited the spot, was told by the angry villagers that they would continue to squat there disrupting traffic till the government paid adequate compensation to the next of kin of the victims.

"We will also not part with our land for any industrial project," some villagers said.                  

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