The Telegraph: Mob attacks cops after fatal mishap
A sub-inspector and three constables were injured when a mob attacked policemen at the site of a mishap on Jessore Road in which a truck had run over a cyclist at dawn on Friday.
The truck, which was headed towards Barasat, knocked down 30-year-old cyclist Imam Mobarak Ali at Bamangachhi around 4.30am. Pedestrians and residents immediately started chasing the truck, which hit a bakery van-puller before the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.
Residents put up a roadblock around 5am. According to them, a jeep from Barasat police station arrived at the spot around 6am to take away Ali’s body. Some protesters threw stones at the police, broke the jeep’s windscreen and kicked and punched the cops.
“The protesters pushed us aside. We persuaded them to allow us to take away the body. But when we were about to do so, some of them suddenly started to kick and punch us while another group hurled bricks at our vehicles,” said an officer of Barasat police station.
“We are trying to identify the culprits who attacked police officers,” said Rahul Srivastava, the superintendent of North 24-Parganas police.
“We had informed the police about the mishap around 5am. The mishap spot is hardly 15 minutes away from the police station but the cops took a long time to get there. Mishaps are becoming common on the stretch because of lax policing,” said Ajijul Molla, a resident of the area.
A large police contingent, including jawans of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), reached the spot soon after the mob attack and took away the body. The roadblock was lifted around 8am.
