Bokaro, Jan. 24: Life came to a virtual standstill here today when all entry and exit points to the Bokaro Steel city were blocked by mobs agitating against violence unleashed by police yesterday on displaced people demanding jobs in the steel plant.

Normality was restored late in the evening. Five kilometres from the district headquarters at Shivandi, several hundred people put up a roadblock that lasted till 8 pm. The mob also attacked police vehicles and broke windscreens while shutting down routes leading up to Hazaribagh, Ramgarh and Ranchi.

The Bokaro district administration said trouble broke out because of a perception among the displaced that 24 people have been given jobs in the plant, raising hopes among the others.

The Bokaro Steel corporate communications chief, B.K. Thakur, claimed that there are less than a thousand claimants left for jobs in the steel plant. The issue, he said, is before the Supreme Court and there was no reason to selectively employ 24 people now.

A blockade on the Purulia Road brought traffic to Jamshedpur to a standstill. Another group shut down the Chas-Garga bridge to prevent any movement from the coalfield. Arterial roads at Chandankiari and Topkadih were also blocked to cut off vehicular movement even within the district.

Leaderless mobs displayed amazing coordination to keep Bokaro isolated from the rest of the state throughout the day. The police chose to exercise restraint after yesterday’s use of muscle power, allowing the mobs to control the roads.

The vocal leader of the Jharkhand Berozgar Vikas Manch, Phoolchand Mahto, and 10 of his colleagues had been arrested by the police. But angry members of the organisation persuaded the BJP legislator from Bermo, Yogesh Kumar Batul, to assume their leadership and negotiate with the district administration.

The negotiation, which began at 1 pm, was marked by frayed tempers. On several occasions, the members threatened to walk out.

The talks ended at 5 pm after the police decided to withdraw all non-bailable sections slapped against the leaders and release them. It was also agreed that the organisation would wait for the new managing director of Bokaro Steel to take over and negotiate with him.