Villagers attack police in a vehicle, whisk away accused

In what comes straight out of a Bollywood movie, a group of villagers attacked a police party and managed to “rescue” an accused at Madha in Solapur district of Maharashtra.

Three policemen were injured and a vehicle was damaged in the attack at Barloni village, according to reports.

The incident took place when a team of Solapur Crime Branch picked up a notorious criminal Shankar Gunjal, who is wanted in several cases of robberies, thefts, dacoities, robberies, bag-lifting and so on.

While he was being escorted in a police van, a mob of 50 to 60 villagers confronted the police team and demanded Gunjal’s release.

However, a crowd surrounded the police van from all sides and started pelting stones on the vehicle, smashing windows.

The police team was caught unaware as they climbed into the vehicle and released the accused.

After the incident, a massive manhunt has been launched to track down Gunjal and the villagers involved in the incident.

Solapur District Superintendent of Police Tejasvini Satpute is personally monitoring the investigation. Reinforcement was rushed to Barloni village after the incident.

A team led by Additional Superintendent of Police Atul Zende have launched a massive combing operation and areas around the village have been sealed.