Jharkhand: Mob Attacks Police Team, Frees Arrested Cybercriminal in Giridih

Giridih (IANS): A mob of villagers and family members attacked a police team trying to arrest a cybercriminal in Jharkhand’s Giridih district on Thursday, injuring several officers, officials said.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the villagers also managed to free the suspect from police custody. Police are conducting raids to rearrest the absconding accused and apprehend those involved in the attack.

The incident occurred in the Ahilyapur police station area after police, acting on a tip-off, raided Chiksoria village to arrest a wanted cybercrime suspect, Churaman Mandal.

Cyber police station in-charge Rameshwar Bhagat led the team to the village and took the accused into custody. However, as officers put him into a police vehicle, a large crowd of villagers and the accused’s relatives gathered and protested the police action.

The situation soon turned violent as the crowd surrounded the police team and attacked them with sticks and stones. Amid the chaos, the villagers freed Mandal from police custody, and he fled the scene.

The attackers injured several policemen and damaged the police vehicle.

Upon receiving the news, senior police officers—including the Gandey police inspector—and additional forces from nearby police stations rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Authorities have deployed additional security in the area.

Bhagat said the police acted on specific information about the accused’s presence in the village. “We arrested him, but the crowd surrounded us and resorted to stone-pelting. We somehow managed to retreat, though they damaged our vehicle,” he said.

Police stated they would register a separate FIR at the Ahilyapur police station regarding the violent incident.

Officials added that they would take strict legal action against those who attacked the police team, obstructed official duty, freed the accused, and damaged government property.