Patna: At least nine police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police and an inspector, were badly injured when an unruly mob protesting against the murder of a youth pelted stones and indulged in arson in Nalanda district on Friday.

The injured cops have been admitted to a local government hospital where the condition of deputy superintendent of police Ajit Kumar Lal is stated to be serious. The mob also set two motorcycles on fire and damaged six others in the process.

The trouble began around 9.30am when the news about the murder of a 30-year-old youth spread in the district headquarters town Biharsharif. Victim Diwakar Kumar, a resident of Adaulia Sarai village in Nalanda, was killed at Mahalpar early morning.

Diwakar had an altercation with a mobile phone repair shop owner on Thursday night. Locals suspected that Diwakar was killed early in the morning when he was returning after dropping his relative at Biharsharif railway station on a motorcycle. The locals caught one of the assailants Rajnikant and thrashed him.

The situation took an ugly turn when the police intervened and attempted to protect the suspect from mob fury. The mob went on a rampage damaging the shops and business establishments and attacked the police team. They also tried to burn the accused alive but the police rescued him.

Two DSPs Ajit and Nishit Priya were among the nine cops who received injuries in the stone pelting.

Later, senior police and administrative officials rushed to the spot with reinforcement and brought the situation under control. Locals said a group of protesters also opened fire in the air to terrorise the residents. However, nobody was injured in the firing.

Nalanda deputy superintendent of police Nitish Priya said additional armed forces have been deployed in the locality to avert any untoward incident. Narrating the incident, she said Diwakar was attacked by a group of miscreants near Mahalpar when he was returning home on his motorcycle.

Diwakar's younger brother Dipu Kumar, who was riding another motorcycle, spotted Diwakar lying in a pool of blood and raised an alarm. Diwakar was rushed to the sadar hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The locals took one of the criminals into custody when he was trying to flee after the incident.

Nalanda superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Porika visited the sadar hospital this evening and enquired about the condition of the injured police official Ajit. He said half a dozen people have been detained for interrogation in connection with stone pelting and arson.

The reason behind the murder of the youth is yet to be ascertained. The SP described the situation under control.