Five persons have been arrested and several, including five policemen, were injured at Pakur in Jharkhand when a clash broke out between villagers and policemen on Wednesday over cow slaughter during the Id-ul-Zuha festival. The situation is said to be tense but under control.
Police officers said villagers at Dangrapahra under the Maheshpur police station limits in Pakur district bordering West Bengal attacked the policemen when they reached there on a tip- off that cow slaughter was being done on the Id-ul-Zuha festival. Since 2015, cow slaughter is banned in Jharkhand and on August 18, the Jharkhand government had also issued a directive for deputy commissioners of all districts to make sure that cattle were not slaughtered on Id-ul-Zuha.
Situation under control
“The villagers attacked the policemen…and five policemen, including the Maheshpur police station officer in-charge Umesh Prasad, were injured while some villagers too were injuried in the clash...the situation is under control now,” Pakur Superintendent of Police Shailendra Prasad Barnwal said. Both the SP and Deputy Commissioner of Pakur, Dilip Kumar Jha, are camping at Maheshpur, said R.K. Mallick, Jharkhand police spokesperson. “Deputy Inspector General, Raj Kumar Lakra has also been sent along with additional forces to bring the situation under control,” he added.
The police had resorted to baton-charge and used tear gas against protesters. However, local people said the police also opened fire on them in which at least seven persons were injured. Later, the police also imposed Section 144 of the India Penal Code in the area which prohibites the assembly of four or more people at a place.
Medical treatment
Meanwhile, many injured villagers crossed the Bengal border for medical treatment at Rampurhat government hospital in Birbhum district, 45 km away from Pakur.
