The outcome is also unclear. Locals say the village chief has fled. In his place, they have established an organizing committee, though its members are a secret. This suggests a fear of recriminations, but the public mood is one of bravado.
"We don't feel regret about what we have done," said a middle-aged man. "The police have not come back since they withdrew on Monday. They dare not return."
Some, however, admitted to anxiety.
"I am scared," one old woman said, as she showed two dented riot police helmets, several empty gas canisters, a policeman's jacket and several truncheons and machetes.
But there have been no arrests and no communication from the authorities.
Amid a crowd of locals beside a wrecked bus, one woman won a cheer of approval by calling for the government to make the first move towards reconciliation.
"It's up to them to start talking," she said. "I don't know what we would do if the police came back again, but our demand is to make the factory move out of the village. We will not compromise on that."
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