Five arrested for attacking police in Rajasthan's Ganganagar; villagers allege cops were drunk

Five villagers were arrested after they 'attacked' a police team which the former claimed to have come drunk to interrogate an encroachment complaint.

Ganganagar: Police arrested five villagers after they attacked a police team and held it hostage until a posse of force arrived to rescue them in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district while the police team went to verify a land encroachment complaint, officials said on Sunday.

In the incident reported in village 91 GB which falls under the jurisdiction of Anupgarh police station, a police head-constable's uniform was torn up by the villagers who charged that the cops were drunk when they visited the village. The villagers released a video to buttress their claims.

The video showed the villagers holding a police constable whose name badge they had removed and recorded it in the video. It also showed the vehicle in which the cops arrived and its registration number as well. One can hear a volley of verbal abuse being hurled on the cops who were reportedly drunk.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Jaidev Sihag said, "Vijay Nagar resident Pawan Chugh had informed at 10 pm on Saturday that his land in 91 GB village was encroached by Satnam Singh. Following the complaint, ASI Prithvi Singh, along with his team, reached the spot," explaining the visit's purpose.

When the ASI was interrogating the occupants, they attacked the police team and took them as hostage. The miscreants also tore up the uniform of a head constable Mahendra Singh. After this, a large crowd of people also gathered on the spot to support the locals, the DSP said.

On information, SHO Phoolchand Sharma, along with a posse of police force from all police stations in Anupgarh circle rushed to the spot. As police reached the area, the miscreants fled the spot. Later, the DSP too joined the police party and carried out spot investigations.

The DSP advised the family members of the miscreants to hand over 'the wanted' to the police. Despite repeated warnings, the miscreants were not turned in. We had to use mild force to pick up a section of the miscreants who were involved in the attack, police said.

SHO Phoolchand Sharma identified the suspects as Resham Singh (52), son of Kartar Singh, Satnam Singh (30), son of Karnail Singh, Amrik Singh (45), son of Harbansh Singh, Gurdev Singh (50), son of Harbansh Singh, and Karm Singh (30), son Gurdev Singh.