The Bihar Police are investigating an attack on seven men in uniform, including two station house officers (SHOs), by a group of villagers in Katihar district, a senior officer said on Sunday. The cops were injured after the group of villagers attacked the Pranpur Police Station on Saturday, hours after the death of a man allegedly in custody.
Locals went on a rampage in the police station and damaged vehicles parked on the premises after 40-year-old Pramod Kumar Singh was found dead in the lockup. He was arrested on Friday for possessing bottles of liquor in dry Bihar.
The two injured SHOs have been identified as Manitosh Kumar of Pranpur Police Station and Shailesh Kumar of Dandkohra Police Station, the senior officer said.
”All the injured policemen have been admitted to the district hospital in Katihar and their condition is stated to be stable. The situation is completely under control and our teams are camping in the area,” Acting Superintendent of Police Daya Shankar said on Saturday.
The body was found as the police officers were preparing documents to produce Singh before a court, he claimed.
As the news of Singh’s death spread, villagers armed with sticks and iron rods attacked the police station and injured the men in uniform.
”The situation could only be brought under control after additional security personnel were called in from the nearest police stations,” he said.
Shailesh Kumar was among those who were deployed from other police stations, the officer said. Singh’s body has been sent for post-mortem examination and a case registered against those who attacked the policemen, he added.
The government on April 5, 2016 banned the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor in the state and made it a punishable offence for those violating the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016 which has so far been amended several times.
