Police officers at the clash spot. Express Photo
The officer-in-charge (OC) of Shyampur police station in West Bengal’s Howrah (Rural) sustained serious injuries when a mob attacked his team with rods and sharp weapons while the officers were conducting a raid in Bargarchomukh village on Friday night. Seven people were arrested on Saturday in connection with the incident.
OC Sumon Das and ASI Tarun Purokyat are undergoing treatment in private hospitals. Hospital sources said that Das, who has suffered a brain injury, is on life support. Five others, including policemen and civic volunteers, were also injured in the attack.
Police said that two groups — led by local residents Motiyar Munshi and Hanif Munshi respectively — had been locking horns over a property in the village over the past few months. Both parties had filed police complaints against each other, on the basis of which FIRs had been lodged. Around six months ago, the two groups had clashed, after which the police had begun looking for Motiyar, who had gone missing.
On Friday, the same groups clashed again. “Following a tip-off, a police team rushed to catch Motiyar Munshi in the afternoon but he managed to flee. At night, a police team again went to conduct a raid in the area, where they were attacked by miscreants,” said a police officer.
Following this, a large contingent of police personnel and the Rapid Action Force, led by Howrah Commissioner D P Singh and SP (Howrah Rural) Gaurav Sharma, rushed to the spot. “It was an old property dispute. Police had gone to a conduct raid when they were attacked. Sumon Das is critical,” Gaurav Sharma said. Das, a 2000 batch sub-inspector, has been admitted to Belle Vue Clinic in Kolkata.
“He has sustained a severe chromatic brain injury. He had no headgear on, hence the injury is deeper. He is critical and will be under observation for the next 72 hours,” said a hospital official. Commissioner Singh said: “Seven persons have been arrested under sections 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 307 (attempt to murder) and a few others of the IPC. The investigation is on.” “The situation in the area is tense but under control,” said a senior police officer, adding that the area has been cordoned off.