Two arrested, several evading arrests for assaulting police in Patna

PATNA: Altogether two persons were arrested till Thursday and at least four dozen more were evading arrest for taking a home guard hostage, pelting stone on a police team, and freeing an accused nabbed after a raid at Jeetan Chhapra village under Rani Talab police station area in Paliganj sub-division of western Patna on late Wednesday night.
Paliganj SDPO Tanvir Ahmed said that Rani Talab SHO Satish Kumar (45), two assistant sub-inspectors Prabhat Ranjan (38) and Ranjan Choudhary (37) and a home guard Mohan Singh (53) were injured from the stone pelting on the police team during the raid.
He said they have received injuries in head, limbs and back. Ahmed said that Sonu Yadav (22) and Dharmendra Yadav (25) have been arrested for attacking police. He said a team of five officers and eight constables and home guard had raided the village in the night.
“Police had conducted a raid at the village to arrest several persons in connection with three separate cases of assault and murder attempt registered last year,” he said.
SDPO Ahmed said that the team was returning when they realised that the home guard was absent.
“He was taken hostage by villagers. The raiding team returned to look for him when villagers started pelting stones on them,” he said.
The injured SHO said that Dharmendra was already arrested during the raid. “But villagers freed him after attacking the raiding team,” he said.
The SHO said that reinforcement was sent in the village within an hour after which intensive raids were conducted and Dharmendra was arrested again and Sonu was also arrested after midnight.
“Altogether 29 persons including Sonu and Dharmendra have been made named accused and 25 others have been made unidentified accused in the FIR registered for Wednesday night incident,” he said. Kumar said almost all males have fled from village after attack on police.
He said three FIRs for scuffle, firing and attempt to murder were registered in quick succession last year due to continuous conflict between two groups of neighbours in the village in which 26 persons were made accused.
“Police had arrested 20 accused till now and six were evading arrest. Wednesday’s raid was to arrest the rest,” he said.