JOIN USThe incident took place when the Siwan police reached Basantpur to rescue a woman Urmila, who was held captive by the villagers on the charge of being a child-lifter.
The police took Urmila, a native of Azamgarh, into custody fearing that she might be lynched by the irate mob. As the alleged child-lifter was being escorted in a police vehicle, the mob went berserk and started pelting stones. The police fired in retaliation. Heavy reinforcements were rushed to the incident site to quell the violence.
In the melee, three persons, including an Amin (land measuring official) were killed, while six cops seriously injured. The three deceased have been identified as Ajay, Kapildeo and Raj Kishore, while three out of six injured policemen were rushed to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).
Bihar DGP Abhayanand, who was also attending the law and order review meeting with Nitish, later confirmed the death of three persons. “Two sub-inspectors and a constable, who have been critically wounded, are being rushed to PMCH. Additional police forces have been despatched to the incident site to control the rampaging mob,” the DGP added.