At least 12 policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, were severely injured when an unruly mob protesting the death of a minor boy in a road accident, attacked them in Sheohar, around100km north of Patna, on Sunday.

The police opened fire in the air to disperse the mob, which had indulged in stone pelting and arson. The cops, who were taken hostage by the mob, were released after the intervention of senior civil and police officials.

The trouble started around 9.30am when a group of people protesting against rash driving and subsequent death of a 12-year-old boy, Kishan Kumar, blocked the road near Purnahia and stopped traffic movement. The road blockade had led to heavy traffic jam in the area.

A police team headed by Sheohar sub-divisional police officer Pritish Kumar rushed to the spot and tried to remove the blockade. Agitated over the action, the protesters indulged in stone pelting and assaulted a few cops with bamboo sticks. Besides Pritish, his bodyguard Ramiz Raja, Nand Kishore Sharma, Neeraj Kumar, Alok Kumar, Saroj Mishra and others suffered serious injuries too. Ramiz was referred to Sri Krishma Medical College and Hospital after his condition deteriorated.

As the protesters had held the personnel hostage, district magistrate Raj Kumar and superintendent of police Prakash Nath Mishra rushed to the spot with reinforcements. The two senior officials pacified the crowd and persuaded the protesters to release the policemen.

The district magistrate and the superintendent of police were camping at the spot because of the tension. Earlier, the police fired 12 shots in the air to bring the situation under control. However, nobody was injured in the police firing. Residents said at least 10 people received serious injuries in the baton charge. They have been admitted to different private hospitals in Sheohar.

Police said Kishan Kumar, son of a local, Ram Kumar Das, had suffered major injuries in an accident on July 20 this year. He was admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday night.

As the news about Kishan's death spread in the locality, a number of residents assembled at Basantpur village under the jurisdiction of Purnahia police station on Sunday morning. They blocked the road connecting Purnahia with the district headquarters town.

The protesters got agitated after the police intervened. They were demanding compensation for the family of the victim. Initially, the policemen from the Purnahia police station rushed to the spot to pacify the mob to lift the blockade, which pelted them with stones prompting them to baton charge.

The locals said the police opened fire to disperse the protesters. The SP, however, said that the police only used force to quell the mob.