BARIPADA: The additional tehsildar of Kaptipada suffered injuries after being allegedly attacked by the sand mafia near Suno river bed in Mayurbhanj district on Monday morning.
The injured officer, Bhimakanta Majhi, has been admitted to Kaptipada hospital with injuries on his hand and other parts of the body. The tehsildar’s car was also vandalised in the incident.
Sources said at around 4 am, Majhi received information about some miscreants illegally lifting sand from Suno river bed with the help of excavator machine. He immediately rang up his driver to visit the spot. When the driver did not respond to his calls, Majhi got into his car and drove towards the river bed.
The tehsildar was some kilometres away from the river bed when a group of miscreants having links with the sand mafia followed him on bikes and intercepted his vehicle at Katas. He got down from his car and a heated argument ensued between them. In a bid to prevent Majhi from going to the sand lifting site, the miscreants started to assault him.
To save himself, the tehsildar got into his car and drove towards Kaptipada police station. However, the miscreants followed him and pelted stones at his vehicle. On reaching the police station, Majhi got out of his car and rushed inside. But the miscreants continued to hurl stones at his vehicle. Both the front and rear windshields of the car were smashed in the attack. Besides, the vehicle’s body was also damaged.
Sub-inspector Babita Puhan said a case was registered on basis of the complaint lodged by the tehsildar. The injured officer was taken to the hospital. Efforts are on to identify and nab the miscreants involved in the attack. Further investigation is underway.