Mob vandalises cop outpost in Madhepura

Madhepura: An irate mob of villagers vandalised the Phulout police outpost, situated on the Madhepura-Bhagalpur border in Madhepura district, following the recovery of a body on Wednesday.
Reports reaching the district HQ said policemen were also pelted with stones as the protesters looted their belongings and government assets lying inside the outpost. Sensing the mood of the rampaging crowd, the policemen fled away.
Later, Madhepura SP Vikash Kumar rushed to Phulout.He was camping in the village till reports last came in.
Police said a police team led by Phulout SHO Rajesh Kumar was returning after recovering the decomposed body from a maize field when slogan-shouting villagers attacked the police team with stones and snatched the body from their possession.
The SHO told this correspondent over phone that the attack on the police team was the handiwork of vested interests, including liquor smugglers. “They had been nursing a grudge against me for sometime as the local police had been proactive in implementing booze ban in the area,” he said.
“Even the weapons and cartridges seized by police in recent were looted,” the SHO said, adding the mob also damaged the furniture, a police vehicle and other valuables in the outpost.
A journalist, who had gone to cover the incident, was also beaten by the mob and his camera damaged, the reports added. Giving background, he said one Sanjeet Mandal was arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday. Sanjeet was a named accused in a case of abduction of Shahensah who was reportedly involved in a group clash over the elopement of a local couple.
“Shahensah was kidnapped a week back. His family members have named Sanjeet in the FIR,” the SHO said and added it was Shahensah’s body which was found from the field. The SP, however, sought to underplay the loot of police property. He said the mob damaged the government property.