A group of villagers allegedly attacked a police team during a midnight raid on ganja smuggling at Matikhal village under Machkund police limits in Koraput district on Saturday.
As per reports, a team of Malkangiri police conducted search at Matikhal village late on Friday night. However locals, presuming the police to be a gang of dacoits, allegedly launched an assault on them.
The villagers detained a policeman and two bikes while other cops fled the spot to evade the onslaught by the villagers.
Later, another team of Machkund police reached the spot and rescued the injured policeman in a critical condition. He was admitted to a nearby hospital.
While local villagers alleged that they were forced to attack the team as some of them knocked on the doors of few houses and intimidated the women.
“When we warned the team to stop threatening, they resorted to blank firing. We thought they were a gang of dacoits and launched an attack,” clarified a villager.
On the other hand, the police personnel said that they were attacked by the villagers during crackdown on illegal ganja smuggling.
“The villagers attacked us during the raid which was carried out as per the order of Malkangiri SDPO. Some of us sustained injuries during the onslaught,” said an injured policeman.