Manipur wins title , Sunday, May 13, 2007
Rourkela: Manipur came from behind to defeat Bengal 2-1 in the final and lift the 15th senior National women's football championship at the Ispat Stadium here on Saturday.
Bengal striker Sujata Kar found the net in the second minute of the match.
Despite Manipur setting a scorching pace, it could not draw level as Bengal led 1-0 at half-time.
Shots from striker Bem Bem Devi twice hit the woodwork as Manipur's frustration continued.
Eventually, substitute Sakhtombi Devi restored parity with just a minute to go for the final whistle when she placed the ball in after Bengal goalkeeper Ranjita Khan failed to grip a cross from the right by Gitarani Chanu.
N.G. Bala Devi, who was adjudged the player of the tournament, headed home the winner in injury time after Chanu gave a cross again from the left.
Kar had opened the scoring virtually straight from the kick-off as she scored following a solo attempt getting past the Manipur defence. — PTI

Manipur claim national women`s football title
The Imphal Free PressIMPHAL, May 12: Manipur claimed another championship when they claimed the top honours in the 13th edition of the senior national women`s football tournament at Rourkela in Orissa today.Manipur has been champions in the senior national football 11 times including this year. Manipur lost to West Bengal twice in previous finals. In today`s final match, during the first half West Bengal led by a solitary goal. However, the Manipur team put in hard work and with a changed game plan made many attacks resulting in the equaliser in the last three minutes scored by Shakhitombi.the winning goal for Manipur came in the 79th minute through Ng Bala only three seconds to the final whistle.

Nine killed in Orissa accidentTuesday May 15 2007 00:43 IST
IANS, BHUBANESWAR: At least nine people were killed and 12 critically injured after a jeep carrying them had a head-on collision with a mini-truck in Orissa's Jharsauguda district on Monday, police said.The jeep was going from Jharsuguda town to the steel city of Rourkela and met with the accident at 6 p.m. on the outskirts of Jharsuguda town, 374 km from here, a senior district police official told IANS over phone.While five died on the spot, four succumbed to injuries at the district government hospital, he said. The 12 injured were undergoing treatment.

Orissa protestors release Posco officials
Posted May 12th, 2007 by Tarique
By IANS,Bhubaneswar : The employees of South Korean steel major Posco, who were taken hostage by villagers protesting the construction of a steel plant in Orissa, were released early Saturday after they gave in writing that they would not enter the region again.
"We released them at about 1.45 a.m. Saturday after the officials - Pranab Das, a public relation officer of the firm and Debesh Swain, a senior executive - gave in writing that they will never come to the area again," said Abhaya Sahu, president of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which is campaigning against POSCO's steel plant.
At least four officials, including a driver and a woman employee, of the steel major had gone to Nuagaon village in Jagatsinghpur district Friday to talk to villagers about land acquisition for a $12 billion steel plant in the area.
However, hundreds of villagers opposed to the project obstructed them, damaged their vehicle and took them hostage. The driver and the woman employee were released immediately while the other two were taken away to Patana village, some 100 km from here, and held hostage for over 10 hours.
"A top official of the company also called me and assured that they will not send any of its officials to the region where people are opposing the proposed project," Sahu told IANS.
Posco, one of the world's biggest steel makers, signed a deal with the state government in June 2005 to set up the plant near the port town of Paradeep in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur by 2016.
There has been no significant progress on the project since then due to local opposition.
Over 20,000 people from around 15 nearby villages including Dhinkia, Gada Kujanga and Nuagaon are protesting the project saying it will displace them and ruin their betel leaf farming.
Posco says the plant would affect only 500 families but it would create thousands of jobs.

Patnaik writes to PM, wants IIT in Orissa
May 12, 2007
Bhubaneswar: Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that a greenfield Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) be set up in Orissa during the 11th Five Year Plan.
The move for setting up the premier institute was initiated during the National Democratic Alliance government. Minister of State for Human Resource Development M.M. Fatmi had announced in Patna last year that Orissa had been included in the proposed three greenfield IITs in the 11th plan.
But on Wednesday, Minister of State for Human Resources D. Purandeshwari told parliament that the government had no IIT plans for Orissa.
"It is indeed painful that the decision has now been reversed," Patnaik said in his letter to the prime minister late Thursday.
It appears the proposal to open a branch of IIT, Kharagpur, at Bhubaneswar, for which the state government had promised 300 acres of land, has also been turned down, the chief minister added.
Over 300 activists of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged demonstrations in front of the governor's residence here Thursday over Orissa not getting an IIT. Hundreds of students and political activists also joined in the protests.
Students of Rupalli Vidyapitha, a residential school in the city, launched a signature campaign to press for the establishment of the premier educational institute.
Orissa does not have any institute of national repute like the IIT or the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The government did not keep its promise of setting up an IIT here, said BJP leader Samir Mohanty.
Members of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and BJP had staged a demonstration outside the parliament after the Centre made clear that there was no proposal for an IIT in Orissa.
"We will continue our fight against the step-motherly attitude of the central government towards Orissa," BJP MP Jual Oram told IANS.
India currently has seven IITs located at Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee. (IANS) .

3 Posco officials freed as Orissa hostage drama ends
First Published: 03:18 IST(12/5/2007)
Last Updated: 10:54 IST(12/5/2007)
The Orissa government heaved a sigh of relief after the three Posco officials who were taken hostage earlier on Friday were released at around midnight.
The hostages were handed over to the Jagasinghpur district police officials who visited Gobindpur after holding hectic parleys with the leaders of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) for the safe return of the Posco officials. The three Posco officials – Rojalin Parida, Debasis Swain and Paramananda Das — who spent nearly seven hours in captivity were safe and did not sustain any injuries.
The hostage drama began at around 4.40 pm when the vehicle carrying the three Posco officials was stopped in Gobindpur village for a routine check. District police officials of Jagatsinghpur district claimed that the Posco officials did not take their prior permission before entering into the Dhinkia panchayat in Jagatsignhpur district.
Dhinkia has emerged as the nerve centre of anti-Posco activists.
After the three Posco officials were taken captive, PPSS leaders had demanded a written guarantee from the South Korean steel company not to send any staff to enter into the project site again so that the captives could be released.
Abhaya Sahu, chairman of PPSS told Hindustan Times, "They entered into our area despite our opposition. The three persons, one lady and two others, have been taken hostage. They will only be released after Posco gives us a written guarantee that no representative of the South Korean company will enter again into the Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon panchayats of Jagatsinghpur district". These are the three panchayats where 4004 acres of land has been earmarked for the $12 billion steel project, which is the biggest FDI in India.
Posco-India has been asked by the state government to start direct negotiations with the project-affected people for the acquisition of private land in the area and the visit of the three officials formed part of the process to start negotiations with the people.
Sources said the visits had begun in the last couple of days without any police protection. Suresh Mohapatra, central range revenue divisional commissioner told HT, "We are still ascertaining the details. But the district administration was probably not informed about this visit".
Posco officials are making a final attempt to mend fences with the PPSS who have put up road blockades in Dhinkia panchayat.
Earlier a Posco spokesperson had told HT the company would go for alternative options if they cannot prevail upon the people in Dhinkia to accept rehabilitation and resettlement packages and leave the land voluntarily for the steel project. This visit aimed at explaining the people in Dhinkia about the R&R packages.

Three Orissa policemen get jail for misappropriation
Indo-Asian News Service
Bhubaneswar, May 12, 2007
A court in Orissa sentenced three policemen, including a senior officer, to one year rigorous imprisonment each for misappropriating funds meant to buy radio signal equipment for the Chandipur missile test range, an official said on Saturday.
Additional Judicial Magistrate (Special) at Cuttack, Suresh Kumar Patnaik, passed the jail sentence on former superintendent of police (Signal) Tapan Kumar Behera, accountant Bhaskar Chandra Diabagh and head clerk Kailash Chandra Mohanty, after they failed to justify how they had utilised Rs 36,000 of government money.
Behera, of the state police service cadre, is superintendent of police (Computer) in the state crime records bureau in Bhubaneswar. He had received in 1989-1990 from then district collector of Balasore Rs 47,430 to purchase radio signal equipments for the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in Balasore, according to public prosecutor Hemanta Kumar Jena.
The money was also supposed to be spent to alert people to vacate villages near the test range during missile testing, Jena said.
But Behera failed to provide a certificate to show how the money was spent despite repeated requests from the district administration, which had given the money in two bank drafts.
The Balasore additional district magistrate had filed a case with the local police station in 1992 seeking a probe into the whereabouts of the money.
Police had filed a charge sheet against four people including Behera. The case against one official was dropped when he died in 1995.
The court on Friday also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each, the non payment of which would invoke a rigorous imprisonment of three months, the lawyer said.

Three Orissa policemen get jail for misappropriation
May 12, 2007, 9:30 GMT
Bhubaneswar, May 12 (IANS) A court in Orissa sentenced three policemen, including a senior officer, to one year rigorous imprisonment each for misappropriating funds meant to buy radio signal equipment for the Chandipur missile test range, an official said Saturday.
Additional Judicial Magistrate (Special) at Cuttack, Suresh Kumar Patnaik, passed the jail sentence on former superintendent of police (Signal) Tapan Kumar Behera, accountant Bhaskar Chandra Diabagh and head clerk Kailash Chandra Mohanty, after they failed to justify how they had utilised Rs.36,000 of government money.
Behera, of the state police service cadre, is superintendent of police (Computer) in the state crime records bureau in Bhubaneswar. He had received in 1989-1990 from then district collector of Balasore Rs.47,430 to purchase radio signal equipments for the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in Balasore, according to public prosecutor Hemanta Kumar Jena.
The money was also supposed to be spent to alert people to vacate villages near the test range during missile testing, Jena told IANS.
But Behera failed to provide a certificate to show how the money was spent despite repeated requests from the district administration, which had given the money in two bank drafts.
The Balasore additional district magistrate had filed a case with the local police station in 1992 seeking a probe into the whereabouts of the money.
Police had filed a charge sheet against four people including Behera. The case against one official was dropped when he died in 1995.
The court Friday also imposed a fine of Rs.3,000 each, the non payment of which would invoke a rigorous imprisonment of three months, the lawyer said.

Captive POSCO officials released in OrissaFrom our ANI CorrespondentParadeep (Orissa), May 12:
Two officials of the Korean steel giant, POSCO, who were detained by villagers opposing POSCO's proposed project near Paradeep, were released early this morning after taking an undertaking that they would never enter the villages.
The POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti led by Abhay Sahu is spearheading the agitation against the project.Sahu claimed that Y K Kim, senior POSCO official, had requested him to release company officials.Four officials of the steel giant, including a driver and a woman employee, had gone to the Nuagaon Village in Jagatsinghpur District on Friday to talk about land acquisition for the 12 billion-dollar steel plant to be established in the area. However, villagers opposed to the project, obstructed them, damaged their vehicles, and took them captive. The driver and the woman employee Rosalyn Parida were released immediately while the other two- Debasish Swain, a senior executive and Pranabananda Das, a public relations officer -were taken away to Patana village and held hostage for over 10 hours. POSCO had signed a deal with the Orissa Government in June 2005 to set up the plant in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur near Paradeep by 2016. Since its inception, villagers have opposed the project and over 20,000 people from around 15 nearby villages, including Dhinkia, Gada Kujanga and Nuagaon are protesting against the project, fearing displacement and loss of their betel leaf farming land. However, POSCO says the project would create thousands of jobs and affect only 500 families.

Angry villagers in Orissa put heat on Korea's POSCO
Sat May 12, 2007 8:12 PM IST
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Two Indian executives from South Korean steelmaker POSCO were released on Saturday by Orissa villagers protesting against a planned $12-billion project, police said, after the firm agreed to look elsewhere for land.
Hundreds of angry villagers, some armed with iron bars and sticks had surrounded the officials on Friday when they went to Govindpur village in Dhinkia area to persuade farmers to sell the company land to build a steel plant.
The planned plant would be India's single largest foreign investment project.
The villagers freed the two officials unharmed following an assurance by POSCO that its staff would not visit the area again. Another official was released on Friday after a few hours.
"They are safe and unharmed and consequent to the incident we will proceed with caution from now," POSCO spokesman Shashanka Pattnaik told Reuters from Bhubaneswar.
POSCO said the company was ready to "forego" land in volatile areas of Orissa and look for alternate sites.
"It is now up to the district administration to provide us alternative land for the project which is very much on," Pattnaik said.
The state government said it was still serious about pushing the POSCO project, but would consider the South Korean firm's decision not to acquire land disputed by local villagers.
"If POSCO gives us a proposal to remove Dhinkia from its project, the government will consider it," said Orissa industries minister Biswabhusan Harichandan.


Agitators take Posco executives hostage in Orissa
PTI, FE BUREAU
Posted online: Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 0027 hours IST
BHUBANESWAR, MAY 11 : Three Posco executives, including a woman who had gone to the Gobindapur village for direct talks with villagers on land acquisition, were taken hostage by agitators opposing the South Korean company’s plans to set up a Rs 52,000-crore steel plant in the area.
Posco sources said some activists of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, a body set up by the agitating villagers, took the three hostage this afternoon, but later released the woman executive identified as Rosalyn Parida.
The other two were identified as Debasish Swain, senior executive, and Pranabananda Das, public relations officer of Posco-India Ltd.
The three executives were detained when they visited Gobindapur village to negotiate with the people. Their car was also seized by the villagers. Deputy Inspector General of Police SK Upadhyay confirmed the executives were being held by villagers.
The anti-Posco activists have put up barricades, disallowing outsiders from entering the three panchyats —Gadakujanga, Dhinkia and Nuagoan—the proposed site of Posco's Rs 51,000 crore mega steel project near the port town of Paradip.
Inhabitants of three panchayats—Dhinkia, Gadakujanga and Nuagan—have been opposing the location of the 12-mtpa steel project at the chosen site as they claim it will displace about 22,000 people.

Published: 13/05/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Officials from steel company released by Orissa villagers
AP ,Kolkata: Two Indian officials were released unharmed early yesterday after being held hostage for 10 hours by activists who oppose expansion plans by the South Korean steel company they work for, police said.
The officials, who work for the South Korean based-Posco, the world's third largest steel-maker, were kidnapped on Friday by villagers concerned that the company's plan to build a steel plant in the eastern state of Orissa would displace thousands of people.
"They were released hours after midnight," said Deputy Superintendent of Police S. K. Upadhaya.
"No harm has come to them, but they are being examined by doctors," said Upadhaya.
Three Posco officials had travelled to the village of Gobindapur to meet with farmers about acquiring land when they were kidnapped. One of the three officials, a woman, was released soon after being taken hostage, but the two others were kept for 10 hours.
Abhay Sahu, the president of an activist group dedicated to fighting the Posco project, had said the hostages would not be released until the company pledged not to develop the site, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Assurances
But they were released after the villagers received assurances from Posco that the company's staff would not enter their village, Sahu was quoted as saying.
Posco officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Posco's steel plant - which would be the largest single foreign investment in India - was approved by the Indian government last year as a special economic zone.

Posco's troubles in Orissa are far from overMay 13, 2007 - 11:41:25 AM
'Similarly, the local administration is not able to provide protection to the people who have been supporting Posco,' he said.
Paradeep -, May 13 - Trouble continues to dog South Korean major Posco's proposed mega steel plant in Orissa, the largest foreign direct investment in India. The abduction of four of its officials was the latest form of protest by the anti-Posco groups who allege the proposed plant will take away the land they have been tilling for years.The four officials, who were confined by protestors in a village in Jagatsinghpur district, where the plant is to come up, were released after several hours of captivity.But that does not indicate that the problem is over. The situation continues to be tense in the area with villagers showing up in strength to oppose the project, to come up near the port town of Paradeep in Jagatsinghpur. The people have dug up the roads in several places leading to their villages so that company officials are not able to visit to discuss land acquisition for the plant.The villagers have also built wooden gates in at least nine places and are keeping guard to prevent government officials from entering the area.Posco, one of the world's biggest steel makers, signed a deal with the state government in June 2005 to set up a $12 billion steel plant near Paradeep by 2016.It wants over 4,000 acres of land for the project. While 430 acres is private land, the rest belongs to the government. The state government recently provided 1,500 acres to the company on paper. However, the company has yet to get the land in its possession. The real problem is that local residents have encroached upon the government land since decades and do not want to vacate. The state government, which had earlier assured the company it would provide all the land, has remained silent in view of the public opposition. It has asked the company to negotiate with locals. The company has, in the meanwhile, offered the affected villagers market price for the land.But it did not help.Over 20,000 people from around 15 nearby villages, including Dhinkia, Gada Kujanga and Nuagaon are protesting the project, saying it will not only displace them but also ruin their betel leaf farming, a permanent source of livelihood.Posco says the plant would affect only 500 families, but help create thousands of jobs. But villagers say more families would be uprooted by the project.While the company officials hope things would become normal in a few days and they will be able to motivate the villagers to sell their land, many locals say it would be difficult.'We will not allow any Posco official to enter our villages,' said Abhaya Sahu, president of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti -, which is campaigning against the steel plant. 'If they enter they will face the consequences,' he warned.However, Posco-India public relations officer Sasanka Patnaik told IANS: 'The anti Posco activists have presence in only one of three affected panchayats -. They are not allowing officials to enter only Dhinkia panchayat whereas Posco officials are freely entering the other two panchayats - Badakijanga and Nuagaon.'A senior district police official told IANS: 'The anti-Posco group has become so strong that police are afraid of visiting any affected villages.'On Friday, the police did not even visit the village where the anti-Posco activists had kept two company officials. It is the protestors who themselves released the officials on their own, said the official on condition of anonymity. 'Similarly, the local administration is not able to provide protection to the people who have been supporting Posco,' he said.There have been numerous clashes between those for and against Posco in the past but police have not arrested a single person from either side, he said.

Posco's troubles in Orissa are far from over
Posted May 13th, 2007 by Tarique
By Jatindra Dash
IANS
Paradeep (Orissa) : Trouble continues to dog South Korean major Posco's proposed mega steel plant in Orissa, the largest foreign direct investment in India. The abduction of four of its officials was the latest form of protest by the anti-Posco groups who allege the proposed plant will take away the land they have been tilling for years.
The four officials, who were confined by protestors in a village in Jagatsinghpur district, where the plant is to come up, were released after several hours of captivity.
But that does not indicate that the problem is over. The situation continues to be tense in the area with villagers showing up in strength to oppose the project, to come up near the port town of Paradeep in Jagatsinghpur. The people have dug up the roads in several places leading to their villages so that company officials are not able to visit to discuss land acquisition for the plant.
The villagers have also built wooden gates in at least nine places and are keeping guard to prevent government officials from entering the area.
Posco, one of the world's biggest steel makers, signed a deal with the state government in June 2005 to set up a $12 billion steel plant near Paradeep by 2016.
It wants over 4,000 acres of land for the project. While 430 acres is private land, the rest belongs to the government. The state government recently provided 1,500 acres to the company on paper. However, the company has yet to get the land in its possession.
The real problem is that local residents have encroached upon the government land since decades and do not want to vacate. The state government, which had earlier assured the company it would provide all the land, has remained silent in view of the public opposition. It has asked the company to negotiate with locals. The company has, in the meanwhile, offered the affected villagers market price for the land.
But it did not help.
Over 20,000 people from around 15 nearby villages, including Dhinkia, Gada Kujanga and Nuagaon are protesting the project, saying it will not only displace them but also ruin their betel leaf farming, a permanent source of livelihood.
Posco says the plant would affect only 500 families, but help create thousands of jobs. But villagers say more families would be uprooted by the project.
While the company officials hope things would become normal in a few days and they will be able to motivate the villagers to sell their land, many locals say it would be difficult.
"We will not allow any Posco official to enter our villages," said Abhaya Sahu, president of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which is campaigning against the steel plant. "If they enter they will face the consequences," he warned.
However, Posco-India public relations officer Sasanka Patnaik told IANS: "The anti Posco activists have presence in only one of three affected panchayats (village councils). They are not allowing officials to enter only Dhinkia panchayat whereas Posco officials are freely entering the other two panchayats - Badakijanga and Nuagaon."
A senior district police official told IANS: "The anti-Posco group has become so strong that police are afraid of visiting any affected villages."
On Friday, the police did not even visit the village where the anti-Posco activists had kept two company officials. It is the protestors who themselves released the officials on their own, said the official on condition of anonymity.
"Similarly, the local administration is not able to provide protection to the people who have been supporting Posco," he said.
There have been numerous clashes between those for and against Posco in the past but police have not arrested a single person from either side, he said.


Naveen needs to spruce up own backyard while seeking IIT
DILIP BISOI
Posted online: Monday, May 14, 2007 at 0000 hours IST
BHUBANESWAR: Orissa politicians seem adept at making an issue of nothing. The latest is the demand for setting up of an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology). Last week, MPs of the Biju Janta Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat on dharna in front of the Lok Sabha protesting against the Centre's rejection of Orissa's demand for establishment of a new IIT in the state.
The Centre has decided to set up three IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan during the Eleventh Plan period. Orissa politicians believe the Centre has shifted one IIT that had originally been allotted to Orissa to Andhra Pradesh. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, some time in January 2007, had demanded a greenfield IIT in the state.
"The vibrant growth in industrial and technical education sectors provides enormous potential for industry and institutional linkages. Establishment of an IIT in Orissa will greatly facilitate in intensifying this process. Orissa is playing host to the biggest ever FDI projects in the country, Posco and Arcelor-Mittal steel project. Presence of such strong industrial players will definitely provide required synergy for an IIT-level institution to realize its full potential", Patnaik had written.The CM also urged the PM and the Union human resources development minister to facilitate the setting up of an extension campus of IIT, Kharagpur, in the state. The board of directors of IIT, Kharagpur, has approved an off-campus in Bhubaneswar and the state government has assured allotment of 300 acre free of cost. But the off-campus is not coming up as the required clearance has not coming from the Union HRD ministry. "Shocking", rues Patnaik. "The Centre has done a great injustice to the state by ignoring its rightful demand", he says.
Earlier, state politicians had made an issue out of the location of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). On popular belief that the IISc was shifted to West Bengal soon after the UPA came to power, BJD-BJP leaders made noises alleging the Centre's negligence. Finally, the PM had to announce the establishment of a National Institute of Science Education and Research in the state.
Meanwhile, Orissa has lined up three universities in the private sector. While Vedanta Resources has signed an MoU with the state government to establish a world class university over an area of 8,000 acre with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore, spiritual guru Ravi Shankar and the Hyderabad-based Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India have proposed two separate universities. The ICFAI university will come up over 75 acre, with an investment of Rs 150 crore.
There are five universities in the government sector in the state. KIIT, a private degree engineering college has been accorded deemed university status. Orissa has 40 engineering degree colleges with an intake capacity of 12,000 students. As many as 19 colleges are providing MBA courses. Hence, the chief minister, while demanding an IIT, should first make a serious endeavour to improve the quality of education in existing engineering colleges. For, a lone IIT will not be able to meet the demand from scores of industries he has lined up in recent years.

Now, fixing controversy hits women's footballSANDEEP MISHRATIMES NEWS
NETWORK
BHUBANESWAR, May 13: So you thought match-fixing exists only in cricket? Ever thought of women's football? The Orissa Football Association feels the Orissa women's team's 0-4 loss to neighbouring West Bengal in the semi-final of the just-concluded National championships at Rourkela could have been fixed, and has ordered an inquiry into the same. Even the state sports department has decided to conduct a probe into the charges. "We fear that the team deliberately played badly and lost. How else can you accept that a team that scored 49 goals in five matches could so tamely surrender to Bengal?", said Orissa Football Association (OFA) president Ashirvad Behera. According to him, the apprehensions stem from the fact that a number of Orissa players (around six) play in the Bengal league and are quite close with the Bengal players. "We believe our players intentionally tanked the match to please Bengal football bosses." Orissa has a strong presence in women's football with around five players finding place in the national team. Orissa captain Shradhanjali Samantray has also led the country. "A team with so many stars losing so miserably has obviously led to doubts. Therefore, the decision to probe the charges," said sports and youth services minister Debashish Nayak. "We will work out the modalities of the inquiry and, if need be, have a joint probe with the OFA (which also looks after women's football)," Nayak added. Behera, the strongman of Orissa sports, told ToI: "We do not think that any money would have exchanged hands. But three of the national women's football selectors are from Bengal and some of our players could have tried to please them by playing badly." He added that a four-member panel had been constituted, led by Rourkela MLA and OFA office-bearer Sharda Nayak. "All those who saw the match last week were curious about the nature of the team's capitulation. We have decided to ban Orissa players from playing in the Bengal league."