Patna: Inspector among five injured in mob attack

PATNA: Altogether five personnel of the state excise and prohibition department, including an inspector, sustained serious injuries when a mob attacked them at a village in Siwan district on Monday morning. Three of them — inspector Gunjesh Kumar and constables Amit Kumar Rai and Verma Giri — were admitted to the sadar hospital for treatment.
The trouble began around 7am when an excise team, led by Gunjesh, reached Rauja Gaur village under the G B Nagar police station area following a tip-off that illicit liquor was being brewed and supplied to nearby villages.The locals suddenly began pelting stones at the team and held two constables captive. Apprehending that the situation was going out of control, the members of the raiding team informed the G B Nagar police station and sought reinforcement.
Sources said the new team also faced a hostile crowd at the village, stated to be a hub of illicit liquor smuggling. The service revolver of an assistant sub-inspector of police posted at the G B Nagar police station was snatched by the mob when he tried to open fire in the air. Later, the stolen revolver was recovered when reinforcement reached the spot from the district headquarters, led by Siwan SP Abhinav Kumar.
Excise superintendent Priya Ranjan confirmed that five personnel, including the inspector, were injured in the mob attack. “The two constables, who were made hostage by the unruly mob, were rescued by police,” he said and added that the operation against the liquor mafia would continue.
The SP told this newspaper that altogether 28 people, including two women, had been arrested on the charges of attacking the raiding team and brewing illicit liquor. He, however, denied the report of police firing and said, “Additional armed police force has been deployed at the village as a precautionary measure. Siwan sadar sub-divisional police officer Jitendra Pandey is also camping at the site.”
The incident took place a day after a similar attack on an excise department team at Chhitauni Musahar Tola under the Goraiya Kothi police station area of the district.