Trouble erupted at Chandia when some villagers, facing displacement due to a steel project and currently lodged in a rehabilitation centre, entered the village to take out their household goods under police protection.
As soon as the securitymen accompanying the project officials arrived at the village, a crowd attacked them with sticks and stones, Jajpur Superintendent of Police D S Kuttey said.
Police lathicharged and fired rubber bullets to disperse the agitating mob. An elderly person while trying to escape fell down and died after his head hit a roadside boulder, police said, adding about 12 others sustained injuries during the clash.
The village, considered to be a stronghold of Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch (BBJM) spearheading an agitation against acquisition of land for a steel plant, soon turned into a war zone, police said.Additional force was deployed in the area.The incident came four years after 14 people were killed in police firing while agitating against land acquisition in the area for industry.