Police seized over 300 cartons of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and arrested three persons in Gopalganj, around 145km northwest of Patna, in the early hours of Thursday.

Acting on a tip off, a police team headed by Sadar sub-divisional police officer Vibhash Kumar intercepted a truck bearing Haryana registration number near Arar turning in the outskirts of the district headquarters town.

The driver of the truck tried to escape but the policemen caught him after a chase. Other associates of the driver, who were escorting the liquor-laden truck, rushed to the spot and engaged the policemen in the encounter. The police fired at least five rounds in the air to scare them away. However, one of them was injured in the crossfire and has been admitted to Gopalganj sadar hospital.

The station house officer (SHO) of Gopalganj town police station Vinay Pratap said two other members of the racket were also arrested from the district headquarters town on the basis of information provided to the police by the injured bootlegger.

The SHO said the cartons were hidden in the stock of edible oil booked from Haryana for Khagaria. However, the truck reached Gopalganj to unload the consignment. The truck had been seized and three persons arrested, the SHO said, adding that it was the biggest seizure of alcohol in the district after prohibition was enforced in the state.

In another incident, two chaukidars (informers) were attacked by a group of bootleggers when they tried to intercept them under the jurisdiction of Kuchaykat police station in Gopalganj on Wednesday night.

The victims - Bunela Yadav and Jai Prakash Yadav - have been admitted to the local government hospital for treatment. Police official Chhotelal Paswan said the liquor was being smuggled into Gopalganj from the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh on a motorbike. The arrested bootleggers have been identified as Mansoor Alam and Maqsood Ala, both residents of Baikunthpur in Gopalganj.