Bihar: Mob Attacks Police Station In Katihar After Alleged Custodial Death, 7 Cops Critically Injured

The Pranpur Police station in Bihar's Katihar district witnessed a rampage by the villagers after an alleged custodial death on Saturday (September 17). Villagers barged into the station premises, damaged public property and could not have been contained until reinforcements from other police stations were brought in.

The events unfurled after the alleged custodial death of 40-year-old Pramod Kumar Singh, who was brought in on September 16 for the possession of illegal bottles of liquor in the dry state. Armed villagers began attacking the police officers after the news and severely injured about seven policemen.

Singh Was To Be Produced Before Court

The arrest of Pramod Kumar Singh was made after he was found to have illegal liquor in his possession. Bihar government had banned the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale, and consumption of liquor in the state since April 2016, after which it has been treated as a punishable offence under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.

After the arrest, the policemen were preparing the documents to produce Singh before a court when they happened to have found him dead in the lockup. As the news of Singh's death spread, hundreds of villagers took to the station armed with sticks and iron rods to attack the officers.

Acting Superintendent of Police (SP) Daya Shankar said that "The situation could only be brought under control after additional security personnel were called in from nearest police stations."

Those reported to have sustained injuries include those among the reinforcements as well. Seven policemen in total, including two station house officers, were found injured during the incident.

Aftermath Of The Attack

As per reports by the FirstPost, the injured station house officers have been identified as Manitosh Kumar of Pranpur Police Station and Shailesh Kumar of Dandkohra Police Station. All those found injured have been admitted to the Katihar district hospital and have reportedly returned to stable condition.

Daya Shankar conveyed to the media that the situation had been brought under control, and several teams had been deployed to camp in the area. Furthermore, Singh's body has been sent for post-mortem examination, and a case has been charged against those who raged the attack on the policemen.

Also Read: The Increasing Number Of Custodial Deaths In India