On Thursday, police had to encounter crowd of a different ilk altogether. A “beery” one. Beer bottles in hand, in a high and not even reluctant to jeer at the cops.
This happened when a beer loaded truck met with an accident near Hansapal Square on the outskirts of the City during the evening. After the driver fled and before the cops could take control, the locals had their “beerfest” of sorts.
It took an ACP, two Inspectors and a platoon police force to drive away the mob and clear the National Highway-5 that witnessed traffic congestion for about an hour.
Police sources said the truck ran over the leg of a person who was crossing the NH and apprehending trouble, the driver fled. The stranded truck blocking two-thirds of the road attracted attention of the locals. They tried to look for the driver and upon not finding him, some of them checked the cargo. Once the cartons filled with beer drew their notice, it was a virtual free for all.
Eyewitnesses said 60 to 70 cartons were carried away by some of the beer enthusiasts while others, angry with the mishap, smashed about 20 cartons on the road.
Another group decided to enjoy the beer and beat the summer heat right at the mishap scene.
When a PCR van approached the spot, it was greeted with beer bottles. Officers from Mancheswar and Balianta police stations and a platoon of force reached the spot and drove away the mob and brought the traffic to normalcy. The incident hit vehicular traffic on the highway for about an hour.