Police fired in the air to disperse a mob indulging in stone pelting and staging a blockade on a highway in protest against the murder of a girl in the Motipur area of Muzaffarpur on Saturday.

Soni Kumari, 12, was beaten to death allegedly by some relatives of one Rameshwar Rai, a resident of Morsandi village, for stealing sweet potatoes from his field. At least four policemen, including station house officer of Motipur police station Nawal Kishore Rai, were injured in the stone pelting. The police used batons to disperse the protesters, but they were in no mood to relent. Subsequently, the police fired in the air to bring the situation under control.

Deputy inspector-general (Tirhut range) Sushil Kumar Khopde said senior civil and administrative officers, including the senior superintendent of police (SSP), were camping at the site.

Muzaffarpur SSP Rajesh Kumar said: “The police fired five rounds in the air to disperse the rioters. No one was injured in the firing. However, at least four policemen suffered grievous injuries in the attack by the mob.”

Trouble broke out around 5.30pm when the girl’s body was handed over to her family after post-mortem. Some villagers, along with the relatives of the deceased, staged a blockade on National Highway-28 near Pansalwa Chowk and went on the rampage.