With both Houses, State Assembly and Council, rocked over deteriorating law and order situation particularly attack on ‘Khakhi’, criminals threw fresh challenge before the Police force when they opened fire and injured two policemen in Muzaffarnagar and looted their weapons, while the police party which reached on the incident site at Pratapgarh was attacked and their vehicles were torched by the mob. Both the incidents were reported on Monday night.
Reports said that police picket comprising of constables lakhpat Singh and Dinesh Kumar, was patrolling between Charthawal Road and Akbargarh area when a Black Colour Scorpio stopped before them on Monday night. The vehicle was occupied by 8 to 9 persons. The miscreants stepped down and hurled abuses on them and later opened fire critically injuring both the cops. The miscreants later also snatched SlR Rifles from possession of both the constables along with two magazine and 20 live cartridges. later opening fire in air to terrorise the locals, the accused fled from the scene along with arms and ammunitions of the cops.
later local police which rushed to the spot along with senior officers including SSP Muzaffarnagar, KB Singh. They shifted the injured to hospital and claimed to have recovered some empty shells of .32 bore cartridges used by the criminals to attack the police party. A case has been registered in this regard and all out efforts have been made to trace out the criminals and lay a trap on them. Security checks have been tightened in the three neighbouring districts of Saharanpur, Shamli and Meerut.
Meanwhile in another report from Pratapgarh, violence broke out in a village in the disrtrict following reports that rivals of the gram pradhan had chopped off the tongue of his 20-year-old cousin, on Monday night. Villagers indulged in heavy brick-batting and arson in Udaipur police station area, about 65 km from the district headquarters, following reports that rivals of gram pradhan Shankar Yadav had opened fire and chopped off the tongue of Dipak Yadav in Pure laxman Raki village on Monday night. The mob torched the jeep of the police station in-charge.
The injured was rushed to the district hospital from where he was referred to Allahabad hospital. Police station in-charge, Santosh Dubey said the family of the injured has not so far lodged any complaint or FIR in connection with the incident. Dubey, however, said an FIR has been lodged against 100 people including 15 named in connection with arson and brick-batting. Meanwhile, 15 people have been taken into custody in the said matter and heavy police force has been deployed to avert any .fresh clash.