Public hearing for private coal mining cancelled after villagers clash in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh
Hazaribag (Jharkhand) (PTI): Villagers clashed among themselves during a public hearing organized by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) for a private coal company at Barkagaon in Hazaribag district of the state on Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
A date for a fresh hearing will be fixed later.
Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan told PTI that a group of villagers attacked another group during the public hearing organised at a football ground in Goldalpura in Barkagaon.
"The public hearing had to be cancelled as the clash created chaos and the atmosphere turned violent due to the presence of people protesting against the public hearing," the SP said.
According to eyewitnesses, a large number of people armed with spears, arrows and sickles arrived at the public hearing site in tractors and stormed directly into the venue. Most of them were wearing masks, mufflers and helmets to conceal their faces. Those who had already been present there also engaged in the clash.
"In a pre-planned manner, the attackers assaulted the farmers, villagers and other raiyats present there. Even women were not spared and were beaten, leading to screams and panic at the scene," a police official said.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and BJP state president Babulal Marandi condemned the incident on the X platform and questioned the government's functioning.
Former Barkagaon MLA Amba Prasad also reached the spot and spoke to the villagers.
So far, no arrest has been made in this connection.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
