E-Paper
Balthar violence: 14 held for attack on police station
BETTIAH: As many as 14 people have been arrested in connection with Saturday’s incident in which a police constable was killed and three others were injured after a mob attacked the Balthar police station in West Champaran district following alleged death of a villager in custody, police said on Sunday
BETTIAH: As many as 14 people have been arrested in connection with Saturday’s incident in which a police constable was killed and three others were injured after a mob attacked the Balthar police station in West Champaran district following alleged death of a villager in custody, police said on Sunday.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Champaran range) Pranav Kumar Praveen on Sunday said, “So far, 14 people have been arrested in connection with Balthar incident. Search is on to nab the others.”
Trouble erupted on Saturday afternoon after a villager, who was taken into police custody allegedly for violation of prohibitory orders died. The deceased, identified as Aniruddh Kumar alias Amrit Yadav, was part of a DJ team and a resident of Aryanagar.
Deceased’s brother Kanhaiya Yadav accused police personnel of beating his brother to death. “After he died, the cops fled away from the police station, setting the vehicles on fire themselves,” Yadav said.
When contacted, Bettiah’s superintendent of police (SP), Upendra Nath Verma said the deceased had come to the police station after his DJ equipment was seized . “He was not in our custody as such or kept in police lockup. Rather, he was attacked by a swarm of bees when he was drinking water, using a handpump on the premises of the police station. He was taken to the hospital but he died. Bees also emerged from his ear cavity,” the SP said.
As rumour spread that he died after being thrashed by the police, a mob attacked the police station in which one cop died, while three others policemen were injured. They also set six vehicles on fire,” said Kundan Kumar, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Narkatiaganj.
The deceased constable has been identified as Ram Jatan Rai, who was posted in the Prushottampur police station. The injured police personnel, identified as Chandan Kumar, Pappu Kumar Sharma, and Rajendra Prasad Singh, are recuperating at the government medical college and hospital (GMCH), police said.
“While two of them have suffered superficial injuries, one (Pappu Kumar Sharma) is admitted here with gunshot injuries. They are out of danger,” said Pramod Tiwari, superintendent of GMCH.
Meanwhile, Birendra Gupta, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) legislator from Sikta on Sunday demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter. “Death caused by bee sting does not hold water at all. The government must set up a high-level inquiry to unearth the truth,” said Gupta.
.
