Surajpur

At least six police personnel, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), were injured after villagers allegedly attacked them while they were attempting to arrest accused persons in pending criminal cases in Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district on Friday, officials said.

The incident occurred in the morning in the Dharampur-Madannagar villages within the jurisdiction of Pratappur police station.

A police team had gone to the villages to arrest persons wanted in old criminal cases, Surajpur Additional Superintendent of Police Yogesh Dewangan told reporters.

“We had anticipated that there could be resistance to the arrests and had reached the spot fully prepared. However, we did not expect the opposition to turn so violent. The villagers resisted the operation aggressively, leaving more than six police personnel injured,” he said.

The villagers hurled stones at the policemen and chased them with sticks.

Rejecting claims by villagers that the police deployment was linked to survey of land for a proposed coal mining project in the area, Dewangan said there was no land survey team accompanying the force.

“The team had gone only to arrest accused in pending cases. One accused was apprehended, while the others could not be traced. There was no survey team at the spot, only police personnel,” he said.

Around 250 police personnel were involved in the operation, with reinforcements called in from neighbouring districts due to shortage of manpower in Surajpur district, Dewangan added.

Videos circulating on social media showed police personnel, including women constables in anti-riot gear, running along a road while being chased by a mob.

During the retreat, several policemen reportedly fell in the ensuing chaos and sustained injuries. Some personnel suffered head injuries and other serious wounds, officials said.

The injured included Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajesh Joshi. The injured personnel were taken to a local hospital, from where some were referred to Ambikapur for advanced treatment, they said.

The situation is now under control, they added.

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Recently, villagers in the area opposed a land acquisition survey for a proposed coal mining project. Police maintained that Friday’s operation was unrelated to the project and was conducted solely to execute arrests in pending criminal cases.