A tribal man was injured when a 10-member team of Nalgonda police from Telangana allegedly opened fire in self-defence. The police reacted reportedly when a large number of villagers tried to attack them to protect a ‘ganja smuggler’ near Lambasingi in the Visakhapatnam Agency area on Sunday.
According to the police, the Nalgonda police had recently busted a ganja case and arrested a few accused. As part of the investigation, they came to the district on Friday. They were heading to Annavaram village when a group of locals allegedly tried to attack them using knives and axes.
“When the villagers attacked them, the Nalgonda police had to open around two rounds of fire in self-defence and also to scare away the locals. One bullet ricocheted and hit a villager,” said Superintendent of Police B. Krishna Rao.
The injured was shifted to Narsipatnam Area Hospital immediately and provided treatment. He is said to be out of danger.
‘Not informed’
Meanwhile, sources in the Visakhapatnam police said that the Telangana personnel did not give prior information about their arrival or their attempt to nab the accused in the Agency. Had they done so, the local police would have warned them about the possibility of such incidents in interior tribal areas, said a local police officer.
