Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren was placed under house arrest on Sunday morning, hours before he was scheduled to join Adivasi groups in their ‘Hal Chalao Ropa Ropo’ protest against land acquisition for the proposed RIMS-2 hospital in Ranchi.
The information regarding the arrest was shared by Champai Soren through social media. “To prevent the voice of the tribal/indigenous farmers of Nagdi from being raised, the Jharkhand government has placed me under house arrest since this morning,” he said in a post.
While talking to the media, Soren said that in the morning at 7 am, the DSP came and asked him to cooperate and not go anywhere. “Many across Jharkhand were supposed to join the campaign, but the police picked them up on their way and stopped them from participating in the protest,” he said.
Several Adivasi groups, along with leaders from across Jharkhand, were set to gather in Nagdi, Ranchi, to register their resistance against the government’s proposal to construct the second campus of RIMS. Members of the Nagdi Zameen Bachao Sangharsh Samiti had planned the protest, claiming that the land identified for the hospital belongs to Adivasis and is traditionally used for farming.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Irfan Ansari has maintained that the land does not belong to the locals and will not affect their interests. The government has positioned RIMS-2 as a landmark project in Jharkhand’s healthcare sector.
Planned as a 2,600-bed super-specialty hospital on the lines of Amrita Hospital in Faridabad, RIMS-2 will integrate advanced facilities in cardiology, oncology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, along with a medical college, research centre and telemedicine units. The Rs 1,000-crore Asian Development Bank-backed project is being pushed by the state as a gamechanger that could position Ranchi as a healthcare and medical tourism hub in eastern India.
Members of the Nagdi Zameen Bachao Sangharsh Samiti said that police picked them up early Sunday morning to prevent their participation in the planned protest at Nagdi. Speaking to The Indian Express, activist Sita Kachhap said, “Five of us, including four women, were taken from our homes around 4 am and brought to Kanke police station. We were detained without being given any reason, only told to remain here.”
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Kachhap said they had gathered to stop the government’s move to begin work on the proposed RIMS-2 hospital site. “The administration wants to break our unity, but people from villages have already come together. This is now a do-or-die struggle for Adivasi land,” she said.
The activists alleged that the arrests were aimed at disrupting their “Hal Chalao Ropa Ropo” campaign and pointed out that former CM Champai Soren had also been placed under house arrest the same morning.
A senior police official said that the action was taken to prevent any untoward incident and maintain law and order in Nagdi, adding that Champai Soren, his son, and other leaders were detained while on their way to join the protest.
BJP state president and former CM Babulal Marandi hit out at the JMM-led government over the house arrest of Champai Soren, calling it “a murder of democracy.” He posted on X, “It is the duty of the Opposition to stand with the people and safeguard their rights. The BJP, as a strong Opposition in Jharkhand, has always fought for the rights of the tribal community. The Hemant (Soren) government should listen carefully, not an inch of tribal land will be allowed to be snatched away. The BJP will, under all circumstances, protect the rights of the tribal community and their land.”
