Concerned Citizens Forum Condemns Arrests of Leaders Resisting Mining Companies in South Odisha

Bhubaneshwar, Odisha: On September 10, 2026, at around 4:30 PM, Lada Sikaka, a Dongria Kandh leader of the Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti, was returning to his village with his lawyer and six friends after securing bail in one case from Lanjigarh Court, when their vehicle was intercepted near Kalyansinghpur by an armed police team. The police team led by the IIC Kalyansinghpur PS; SDPO Kesinga; and IIC, Biswanathpur PS forcibly took him away. Within two hours of this incident, armed police teams were deployed in the two main villages opposing the Sijimali Bauxite Mining Project of Vedanta – Kantamal in Kashipur block and Talaampadar in Thuamul Rampur block. Fear and terror spread through the villages.

We, as the Concerned Citizens Forum, with lawyers, human rights organizations, trade unions, citizens’ groups, and members of various political parties, strongly condemn the violent arrest of Adivasi leader Lada Sikaka by the Odisha police and the armed presence of police in villages of Sijimali and demand the immediate release of Lada Sikaka and the lifting of police encirclement from these two villages.

It is most concerning that even after 24 hours passed, Lada Sikaka was not produced in Rayagada court. There was no information released about where he was being held. His lawyer and friends present at the time of the incident submitted a written complaint to the Rayagada SP but they were only kept waiting. The entire community was in anxiety. Then the news came that Lada Sikaka was moved between several locations and was presented in court at 10:30 PM on the 10th, after which he was sent to jail. It is to be noted that based on an old 9-year-old case (number 349/2017), on March 15, the Lanjigarh JMFC had declared Lada Sikaka to be absconding and had directed the officer-in-charge of Kalyansinghpur PS to seize his property. Lada Sikaka had approached the Odisha High Court which had quashed the FIR.

As background to this latest assault on people’s assertions and their collective movement, it is to be remembered that after Vedanta Company was given the mining lease for the Sijimali bauxite block in February 2023, since July 2023, villagers in Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district and Kashipur block of Rayagada district, under the leadership of Ma Mati Mali Suraksha Manch, have been resisting the mining project through peaceful and democratic means. They have given countless applications and memorandums to all levels of authorities. Instead of listening to them,  the local administration with company henchmen has been wedging divisions amongst the people to break their unity and suppress the movement. There is a ceaseless effort to destroy the collective resolve of the villagers for a peaceful coexistence. It is particularly most concerning that  people and the movement are being continuously criminalized through fabricated cases.

In the last three years, at least 43 police cases have been filed, and over a hundred Adivasis and Dalits, both women and men, have been incarcerated in Odisha jails. For example, from March 8, 2026, to April 8, 2026, within one month, 24 people were sent to jail, 217 were made accused, and the number of “others” total 1,140. The inhuman and brutal atrocities committed by the police at 3 AM on April 7 in Kantamal village caused an uproar not only across Odisha but across the country. People have courageously faced this state force and coercion in the name of so called “development” and have been able to stop the mining operations until now.

Widespread public protest has occurred against Vedanta as well as Adani’s proposed Kutrumali Bauxite Mining Project. When news of an environmental public hearing was announced in April 2026, local residents strongly opposed the public hearing as ignoring their demands to cease mining altogether. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board had to cancel it.

The Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, along with all peoples’ movements of South Odisha, has continuously shown solidarity and support to all these movements, appealing for a united struggle to protect adivasi land and the hills,  forests, rivers and streams. Consequently, the advisor of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti and the national editor of the Socialist People’s Council, Lingaraj Azad, who has been active in both Sijimali and Kutrumali, is still languishing in Bhawanipatna jail since March 25. He was granted bail in one case, but in another false case, restrictions are imposed on him so that he cannot leave jail.

Hiramal Naik, a leading member of Ma Mati Mali Suraksha Manch from Majhigaon village in Thuamal Rampur block, was also arrested by the police on August 28. He has already served a prison sentence of a few months in early 2025. He was denied bail at Thuamal Rampur court on September 11 as a fresh and fabricated case was similarly put on him.

It is our firm belief that arresting leaders like Lada Sikaka, Lingaraj Azad and Hiramal Naik, or imposing a siege on villagers of Kantamal and Talaampadar are not disparate or isolated incidents; rather, the criminal justice system is being used to push through mining and industrialization in Odisha by hook and by crook.  In recent months, both the central and state governments have been leasing bauxite mines of the Eastern Ghats mountain range to different companies one after another — for example, the Balda bauxite mine in Nandapur block to Adani; the Karnpodikonda mine in Narayanpatna block and Karlapat mine in Thuamul Rampur to Vedanta; and the Pattangi Serubandha mine to NALCO. Another four bauxite mines are in the process of being auctioned in Kashipur-Tikri area of Rayagada district. In Odisha’s aluminium sector, there is a big push for Adani’s plan to invest 1.10 lakh crore rupees. Throughout, local communities, especially Dalits and Adivasi groups, are resisting these mining companies to protect their livelihoods, homes, and cultural heritage, and in many places, have successfully stopped mining. Environmentalists, various political groups, trade unions, democratic organizations, and even retired bureaucrats are also urging the Odisha government to stop mining operations. Therefore, the state administration, in aid of the mining companies, have launched the arrests of local leaders and imposed siege on villages that are particularly strong sites of struggle, like Kantamal and Talaampadar. The clear purpose is to kill the movement against mining and simultaneously lay the ground for a rapid advance in the logistical infrastructure – roads, railway, etc – to facilitate the mining. The message they are sending is clear:  to raise a voice against mining companies is a crime – and that voice will be crushed.

We deeply fear that the path being taken by the Odisha government to suppress all democratic voices in order to facilitate mining foretells more terrifying situations. Both Kashipur in the year 2000 and Kalinganagar in the year 2006 stand as witness to the extent of police violence used on people struggling to protect their land. In the name of “development,” regions of Kashipur and Thuamul Rampur that are protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution are fast turning into conflict zones. Most importantly, reckless mining will cause irreparable damage to the biodiversity and water resources of the Eastern Ghats mountain range, impacting the entire of Odisha. At a time when the climate change crisis is intensifying day by day, it is easy to see how the extractive mining industry, and where the super profits leave the state and accrue only to powerful private actors, the future of coming generations will descend into complete darkness.

We urge the government to respect democratic values and constitutional rights and the law of the land, and ensure that peace and coexistence is rapidly restored in these Fifth Schedule areas.

As concerned citizens, we demand:

• The immediate release of Lada Sikaka, Lingaraj Azad and Hiramal Naik.
• The withdrawal of armed police forces from the villages of Kantamal and Talaampadar so that villagers can continue with their daily lives and routine livelihood activities.
• To cancel all the bauxite mining leases, and thereby respect the public opinion of the people who have safeguarded the region for centuries, and who see no lasting benefit from this blatant destruction of their lands, hills, rivers and deities.

Endorsed by:

1. Prafulla Samantara, Environmentalist
2. Krishna Mohanty, Gandhian Leader
3. Sudhir Pattnaik, Journalist and Social Activist
4. Biswapriya Kanungo, Advocate and Human Rights Activist
5. Ranjana Padhi, Author and Feminist Activist
6. Anil Kumar Mallick, State Vice President, Bhim Army, Odisha
7. Dr. Biswajit, Gandhi Peace Foundation
8. Srimanta Mohanty, Secretary, Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakshya Sangathan (GASS)
9. Narendra Mohanty, Advocate and Convenor, Campaign against Fabricated Case and NAPM (Odisha)
10. Deba Ranjan, Film Maker and Social Activist.
11. Bharat Majhi, Poet
12. Pratap Nayak, State Secretary, AIKMS
13. Kedar Sabar, All India Adivasi Forum
14. Mahendra Parida, General Secretary, AICCTU
15. Dandapani Mohanty, General Secretary, Forest Workers Union
16. Comrade Hena, Basti Suraksha Manch
17. Comrade Pramila, AIRWO
18. Comrade Tuna, Adivasi Bharat Mahasabha
19. Comrade Parvati, MNREGA Workers Union
20. Comrade Bichitra Kumar Patra, TUCI
21. Comrade Ramchandra Badtiya, Odisha Construction Workers Union
22. Comrade Gobind Ram Sahu, All India Revolutionary Farmers Organization
23. Comrade Minati Bhoi, Domestic Workers Union
24. Comrade Shankar, Odisha State Secretary, CPI (ML) Red Star
25. Nirakar Nayak, State Secretary, Chaasi Mulya Sangha, Odisha, AIKMKS
26. Siddharth Kar, Teacher and Social Activist
27. Rajan, Solidarity Activist, People’s Movements
28. Sharanya, Solidarity Activist, Adivasi Movements, Koraput
29. Pranab Jena, CPDRS
30. Sushant Jena, State Co-Convenor, AIFTU (New)
31. Sini Soi, Adivasi Leader, Kalinganagar
32. Saroj Mohanty, Poet
33. Sameer Ranjan, Poet
34. Lenin Kumar, Poet
35. Rumita Kundu, Political Prisoners Committee
36. Pramodini Pradhan, PUCL
37. Gargy Satapathy, Journalist
38. Surendra Tapasu, Political Social Activist
39. Nigam, Author and Social Activist
40. Sangram Mallick, President, Ambedkar Lohia Vichar Manch
41. Prashant Paikrai, Spokesperson, Jindal-POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
42. Dhananjay Deep, All Odisha Scheduled Caste Federation
43. Digambar Duria, Advocate, Bhawanipatna (Dharamgarh)
44. Suresh Sangram, Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Bhawanipatna
45. Upendra Bag, People’s Movements Activist, Raygada
46. Bhabani Shankar Jena, INTUC, Raygada
47. Krushna Sikaka, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti
48. Har Baniya, Jai Kisan Andolan, Bargarh
49. Balabhadra Mallick, Chaasi Mulya Suraksha Samiti, Kandhamal
50. Purna Chandra Pradhan, Senior Advocate, Bhawanipatna
51. Babaji Charan Jena, Social Activist
52. Lilu Das, Bahujan Andolan
53. Prof. Surendra Kumar Jena
54. Sachidanand Majhi, Ma Mati Mali Suraksha Mancha
55. D. G. Pradhani, Adivasi Samaj
56. Deb Prasad Rai, Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar
57. Tirupati Gomanga, Adivasi Sangharsh Morcha
58. Rajib Sagaria, Journalist
59. Satya Banchor, Lower Sukhtel Budi Anchal Sangram Parishad
60. Satya Mahar, Sachetan Nagrik Mancha, Kalahandi
61. Abani Gaya, Advocate, Berhampur
62. Khusiram Jani, Adivasi Rights Activist
63. Rajib Ratan, Journalist
64. Ananta, Lokmukti Sangathan, Jharsuguda
65. Gopinath Majhi, Campaign for Survival and Dignity, Odisha
66. Biranchi Bariha, Campaign for Survival and Dignity, Odisha
67. Bhishma Paangi, Campaign for Survival and Dignity, Odisha
68. Bijay Swain, Campaign for Survival and Dignity, Odisha
69. Dr Sricharan Behera, Researcher
70. Baghambar Pattnaik, Human Rights Activist
71. Damodar Behera, Left Activist
72. Subhash Sahu, Advocate
73. Bijay Kumar Panda, Advocate
74. Sharmishta Nath, Poet
75. Rashmi Ranjan Jena, Advocate
76. Khirod Rout, Advocate
77. T.S. Swaraj, Advocate, Odisha High Court
78. Bikas Swain, Advocate, Odisha High Court
79. Bismoy Rai, Advocate, Odisha High Court
80. Babita Mahapatra, Poet
81. Radhamohan, Social Activist
82. Prakash Kumar Samantsinghar, RTI Activist
83. Subhas Sendha, Social Activist
84. Bichitra Biswal, Columnist
85. Azad Swati, Social Activist
86. Anurag Das, Advocate
87. Swarup Kumar Pal, Advocate

Contact Email Id: ccfodisha@gmail.com