BALTHAR
(W CHAMPARAN): A police head constable, identified as
Havildar Ram Jatan Rai
, was killed when a rampaging crowd torched Balthar police station premises, 30km north of Bettiah in West Champaran, after a youth allegedly died in custody after 'brutal police assault' on Saturday. Havildar Rai was a resident of Lakhisarai district. The mob also torched a dozen vehicles, including four-wheelers, mobikes and a fire brigade van.
"Eight other police personnel, including
Balthar SHO Ajay Kumar Choudhary
, are injured. Twelve people have been arrested so far," Bettiah SP Upendra Nath Verma told newsmen on Sunday.
Part of the district administration's exercise to maintain peace during
Holi and
Shab-e-baraat
and curb drunkenness and hooliganism with the deployment of sector magistrates on patrol throughout the district, Sikta BDO Meera Sharma apprehended a pick-up van being rigged up with DJ sound boxes by villagers of Arya Nagar, 2km from Balthar PS. Van driver Anirudh Yadav (35) was taken to Balthar police station on Saturday. Soon, as word of Yadav's detainment spread, villagers from nearby villages started milling in movement towards the police station.
The tension conflagrated when Yadav in custody was soon rushed to the Sikta PHC for treatment of alleged wasp bites. "He had some bee-stings on his neck, face and legs. He was given medicines and injection. The patient was alright...had come walking and also left the treatment room on foot," Dr Akhtar, who attended to the victim, told local mediapersons. This reporter spotted two big bee-hives under the police station outer roof after Saturday's fire. Police claimed that Yadav, after returning from the PHC, began to bleed from the ear. Eyewitnesses said Yadav was rushed to one BK Tiwary's clinic next door, but was declared dead by the quack.
Villagers did not accept the 'bitten by wasp' explanation for Yadav's custodial death. The deceased's widow
Sushila
and his brother
Kanhaiya Yadav
alleged that Anirudh had been 'killed in custody".
Mayhem exploded. The mob torched and ransacked the main police station building, barracks and residences of the inspector and the SHO.
"We bolted our door and hid underneath out cots. They broke in and assaulted us," constable Baliram Prasad said, showing his wounds. "We heard cries of 'Jai Shri Ram'," Ram Awadesh Sharma recalled, adding to video clips of frenzied sloganeering outside. "Those who cried out Jai Shri Ram slogans in our barrack sounded to be children," he added.
"We're trying to retrieve the CCTV footages," the SP said.
(With inputs from Tirthraj Kushwaha in Bagaha)
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss yearly career horoscopes 2025 for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.