VISHVENDU JAIPURIAR
Hazaribag, Nov 8: Villagers today attacked a police team charging them for saving a pickup van driver who was responsible for killing a youth due to reckless driving in Sinhpur village in Chatra district. The angry villagers not only thrashed an ASI of the Sadar police station but also smashed off his uniform.
Sources said three deaths were reported in two different accidents in the Chatra district on Tuesday morning.
Sources said the first accident took place in Huntergunj of Gosaidih on the border of Bihar-Jharkhand where a truck hit a bike, killing two youths on the spot.
In the second accident, a speeding pickup van hit a bike, killing one labourer named Pappu Bharti of Dahuri village beside injuring two others near the Changer river area under Sadar police station.
ASI Shashikant Thakur reached there and sent the injured ones to the hospital. He chased the pickup van and forced it to stop to arrest the driver. As Thakur was on the way to the Sadar police station, villagers of Dahuri village reached there charging him to connive with the pickup van driver. They said he was in planning to leave the driver and so took a different route to the police station.
Villagers who were angry due to the death of Pappu attacked the police team and misbehaved with Thakur, tearing his uniform. When policemen opened lathicharge to rescue Thakur, villagers started pelting stones and injured five men-in-khaki. Even the windscreen of the police jeep was damaged in the incident.
On getting information, The Subdivisional Police Officer (SDPO) reached the spot and pacified the villagers. All injured policemen were sent for treatment.
