Latehar (Jharkhand), Nov 4 (PTI) Six people, including three NTPC officials, were held hostage by villagers for nearly seven hours

Latehar (Jharkhand), Nov 4 (PTI) Six people, including three NTPC officials, were held hostage by villagers for nearly seven hours

Latehar (Jharkhand), Nov 4 (PTI) Six people, including three NTPC officials, were held hostage by villagers for nearly seven hours

    Latehar (Jharkhand), Nov 4 (PTI) Six people, including three NTPC officials, were held hostage by villagers for nearly seven hours on Wednesday in Jharkhand's Latehar district over a land survey conducted using drones without the gram sabha's permission, police said.

    The incident took place in Gerenja-Harafu village in Balumath police station area, where the NTPC team had gone to survey land allocated for a coal block, they said.

    The team, comprising NTPC general manager Anand Agrawal, two assistant general managers and three drone operators, was rescued by police after prolonged talks with the villagers, Balumath police station officer-in-charge Anubhav Sinha said.

    The team arrived around 9 am and was rescued around 4 pm, he added.

    During the survey, villagers allegedly brought down a drone with a slingshot and seized it before surrounding the general manager's vehicle, protesting that the survey had been conducted without gram sabha approval, Sinha said.

    Police reached the spot after receiving information and held talks with the villagers, who demanded action against those operating the drone without permission, he said.

    The villagers agreed to release the team after the company gave a written assurance that no work would be undertaken in the area without the gram sabha's permission, the officer added.

    Police have launched an investigation into the incident, he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)