Police try to tame protesters in Purnea on Saturday. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Purnea, Oct. 15: A group of Chandrabhati villagers today hurled stones and tried to set ablaze the Dagarua police station in the district in protest against the death of a man under mysterious circumstances, prompting police to fire in the air.

Over 24 policemen, including the station house officer, were injured in the mob attack that took place after the body of Mohammad Naseem, 40, was fished out of a pond adjacent to the Dagaura police station in the morning. Naseem’s two-wheeler was found lying abandoned near the police station yesterday. It was, however, handed over to his relatives the same day.

According to sources, the recovery of the motorcycle near the police station made the residents suspicious of the police’s role in Naseem’s death. The residents alleged that Naseem died because of negligence on the part of some police personnel. A resident accused the police of not registering a missing case despite repeated attempts by Hazi Abdul Rauf, the uncle of the deceased.

Naseem had on Tuesday left home for his in-laws’ place on a motorcycle in an inebriated condition. The residents alleged that the police had intercepted him to check documents of his two-wheeler. Another source said Naseem was handed over to the Dagarua police two days ago because he had abused some residents in a drunken condition. The source added that though the police had released him, there was no report of Naseem’s detention in the police station.

After his body was found, the residents assumed that police tortured him in custody. As the news of Naseem’s death spread, a large number of people from Chandrabhati and its adjoining villages gathered outside the Dagarua police station.

The police initially tried to pacify the crowd, but in vain. The situation took an ugly turn when a section of the protesters started pelting stones and set ablaze a portion of the police station.

Over two-dozen policemen, including station house officer Mitesh Kumar, were injured in the mob attack. Additional forces from nearby police stations rushed to Dagarua to tame the protesters. But with the demonstrators showing no sign to relent, the police fired in the air to disperse them.

“Some teenagers, no way related to Naseem, attacked the police station and threw stones at the police. The police had to fire 15 rounds in the air,” Purnea superintendent of police Amit Lodha told The Telegraph. “We have arrested some of the protesters. Naseem’s body has been sent to Purnea Sadar hospital for autopsy. The situation is now under control,” he added.

Purnea district magistrate N. Saravana Kumar has ordered post-mortem of Naseem’s body under the supervision of a medical team. The autopsy process would be shot on video, a senior administrative officer said.