Mumbai: Agitators opposing the setting up of a steel plant by the South Korean company POSCO has taken three of its officials, including a woman, who had gone to Gobindapur village to hold direct talks with villagers on land acquisition hostage.

POSCO sources said some activists of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the body set up by the agitating villagers, took the three hostage in the afternoon. The agitators later released the woman official, identified as Rosalyn Parida.

The other two officials were identified as Debasish Swain, senior executive and Pranabananda Das, public relations officer of POSCO-India Ltd.

S K Upadhyay, deputy inspector general of police (central range), said the officials were held up by villagers.

The proposed site is a fertile land, where paddy, betel vine and cashew nuts are grown.

It was decided at a meeting held at the PMO recently that POSCO would directly make contact with the people of the project site area for acquisition of their land.

Accordingly, POSCO officials had been venturing near the villages and had approached some people earlier as well.

The agitators had erected bamboo gates at eight different points in the three panchayats while refusing entry to government officials, POSCO personnel and police.

As the three officials visited Gobindapur village to negotiate with the people, they were detained and their car was seized.

Villagers say other executives will be released only if POSCO assures no one else will be sent to negotiate for land.

The villagers were agitated over the ''secret visit'' of a group of five POSCO officials to the area on April 26.

PPSS president Abhay Sahu has reportedly sought a written undertaking by the company that the project would not be set up at the present site for release of the officials.

Inhabitants of three panchayats - Dhinkia, Gadakujanga and Nuagan - had been strongly opposing the location of the 12 million tonne project at the chosen site as it would require displacement of about 22,000 people.