Four policemen, including a Circle Inspector, were injured in an attack by gamblers in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district on Sunday. The attackers reportedly chased the police personnel and also set afire a police vehicle. The incident occurred in Tadipatri town when the police personnel had raided a house on a tip-off about gambling.
Circle Inspector Hamid Khan and three constables from the Kadapa police station were clad in civil address when they reached the gambling den. As they entered the house, about 20 gamblers attacked them with sticks and stones even as the policemen tried to show their identity cards. The attackers set the police vehicle on fire and escaped as additional police force from the district rushed to the scene.
The injured police personnel were shifted to Anantapur Government Hospital for treatment and a fire tender was dispatched to douse the flames. However, the vehicle was already damaged by then. The incident also triggered tension in the town.
According to media reports, Circle Inspector Hamid Khan suffered a head injury in the attack and a case was registered against the accused, identified as Rashid, and his accomplices, for attacking the policemen. Further details are awaited and the police are on the lookout for the accused who are absconding.
This is the latest attack in a spate of incidents this year, where policemen in Andhra Pradesh were attacked while discharging their duty.
In August this year, a sub inspector and a constable belonging to the state police were beaten up inside their own police station in Nellore district, after a large group of people barged inside. The mob was irked at the move of the SI, to call in one person for questioning at the Rapuru police station and allegedly beat him.
The incident had come days after a group of policemen were allegedly assaulted by drunk men in Nellore district itself, after the police tried to stop a dance performance. A sub-inspector, two constables and two home guards managed to escape from the crowd but were injured.
In May, anger spilled over to the streets of Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district, as news of an alleged attempt to sexually assault a 10-year-old spread. Residents blocked a road near the police station and pelted stones, demanding that the accused - in police custody - be handed over to them.