Maharashtra: Vinayak Raut detained during anti-refinery stir in Barsu

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Vinayak Raut detained by police at Barsu village in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district after he joined a section of local people in their protest against the proposed oil refinery project there, triggering chaos at the site for some time, officials said.

Raut was detained in the afternoon, they said. As chaos prevailed at the site, police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, who have been sitting in the Barsu-Solgaon villages Rajapur tehsil to press for their demand that the project be scrapped.

The police asked the protesters, who have been agitating since the last four days in Barsu-Solgaon to return home. But as they refused to budge, the police personnel started evicting them, he said.    

When Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut arrived at the place to meet the protesters, he and his supporters were stopped by the police. After that, they sat on a road there as a mark of protest, following which they were allowed to meet the local protesters, he said.

But after some time, the police detained MP Raut and his supporters, he said. Police personnel also used tear gas to disperse the protesters from the site, the official said. Due to the action, the protesters started running away from the protest site, he said.

Police personnel also used tear gas to disperse the protesters from the site, the official said. Due to the action, the protesters started running away from the protest site, he said. Two companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), around 1,000 police constables and 120 officers are currently deployed at the protest site. On Tuesday, the Ratnagiri police arrested 111 people, most of them women, during a protest against the proposed refinery.

बारसु रीफायनरी आंदोलनात मला व माझ्या सहकाऱ्यांना अटक करण्यात आली. pic.twitter.com/aBmzA7OvAg

— VinayakRaut_Official (@Vinayakrauts) April 28, 2023