BHOPAL: An armed group attacked Odisha Police and freed inter-state drug smuggler Aditya Mishra from custody in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district on Tuesday.
The incident took place around noon on the Sidhi-Rewa district border, when the police vehicle carrying Mishra was negotiating a sharp turn in the upper reaches of the ghati.
“According to the Odisha cops, when their vehicle was going through a turn in Chuhiya Ghati, two cars each from the front and the back stopped the police vehicle,” Sidhi Superintendent of Police Santosh Kori said. “The men in the four vehicles broke its windows, fired two to three rounds and sprayed something in the eyes of the Odisha cops before escaping with the accused,” he said.
The attackers used baseball bats to smash the windows of the police vehicle, he added.
Mishra, a native of Hanumana in Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district, is accused in several cases under the NDPS Act and reportedly in a gang-rape case in Rewa district. Odisha Police arrested him a few months ago with a large quantity of ganja, and he had been in judicial custody since then. The team was taking him to Rewa on Tuesday to produce him before a court in connection with the pending MP cases.
Around 12 hours after the incident, multiple MP Police teams were searching for Mishra and those who helped him escape.
Sources said police had obtained leads about his accomplices and a breakthrough was expected in the next few days. Police suspect Mishra may have fled to neighbouring eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Only one Odisha policeman was injured, suffering a hand injury from the broken window, despite the team being surrounded by armed men. It also remains unclear why the police escort, which was possibly carrying automatic weapons, did not fire back at the attackers. These questions are likely to form part of the investigation.
