Former Jharkhand chief minister and BJP leader Champai Soren was placed under house arrest on Sunday to avoid law and order issues in view of protests by tribal outfits against land acquisition for a multi-crore state-run health institute, police said. His son Babulal Soren, along with supporters who were on their way to Ranchi, have also been detained at a police station, they said. "Champai Soren is under house arrest as a preventive measure to maintain law and order in view of the tribal outfits' protests," Ranchi City Deputy SP K V Raman told PTI. A large number of police personnel have also been deployed and barricades put up at strategic points in the wake of the protests on Sunday, he said. Soren, however, termed the move as undemocratic, and said his house arrest was ordered for supporting the tribals and their protest. Security has also been beefed up at the residence of Soren, who has announced that he would join the protest.
Over 20 tribal groups, farmers and land owners have called for a 'Hal Joto, Ropa Ropo' (plough field, plant saplings) protest on Sunday at the site where the Rs 1,074-crore RIMS-2 hospital project has been proposed. RIMS-2 refers to the expansion of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a premier health facility in the state. Barricades have been put up along roads leading to Nagri area where the project is to come up. A local of the area, 50-year-old Basant Kumar Mahato, said he was stopped near Chandni Chowk in Kanke. "I reside at Ring Road, but I am not allowed to go to my home," he claimed. The Ranchi district administration has also clamped prohibitory orders banning public gatherings in Nagri area. The orders ban public meetings and gatherings of five or more people within the specified perimetre.
Carrying arms and ammunition, explosives and other weapons is prohibited and using loudspeakers is also barred in the area, an official release said. The health department has allotted 207 acres of land for the project. Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari had last month claimed that the RIMS-2 will feature a 2,600-bed hospital, and 100 undergraduate and 50 postgraduate seats.