8 injured as villagers pelt stones at police revenue teams during anti-encroachment drive in UP

    Ballia (UP), Feb 4 (PTI) Eight people, including five police personnel and three revenue officials, were injured after villagers pelted stones at police and revenue department teams here during an anti-encroachment drive, police said on Wednesday.
    The incident took place on Tuesday when they had gone to remove illegal encroachments on a pond embankment in the Hathauj village under the Khejuri police station area.
    Additional Superintendent of Police (North) Dinesh Kumar Shukla told reporters that the action was being carried out on the orders of the Allahabad High Court.
    A joint team led by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Sikandarpur, along with the tehsildar, revenue officials and police personnel, reached the village to clear illegal encroachments along the pond when some locals, allegedly instigated by others, suddenly attacked the team with stones and indulged in rioting, he said.
    Station House Officer Mithilesh Kumar said that five police personnel and three revenue officials were injured in the incident. All the injured were admitted to a local government hospital for treatment.
    He said a case has been registered at the Khejuri police station against two named persons and around 150 unidentified individuals under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
    Seven accused have been arrested so far, and efforts are on to apprehend the remaining accused, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)