A group of tribals allegedly abducted and killed a man, and then attacked a police team that attempted to rescue him, resulting in the death of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in Madhya Pradesh's Mauganj district, an official said.
The incident took place on Saturday in Gadra village, about 25 km from the district headquarters, and police have taken five persons into custody in connection with the violence, the official said.
Two persons, including an ASI, have been killed and other policemen sustained minor injuries,
Rewa Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Saket Pandey told PTI on Saturday.
Police had to fire in the air after being surrounded by the mob to move to safety, sources said.
Sources said a group of Kol tribe members on Saturday abducted a man, named Sunny Dwivedi, suspecting he had killed a tribal, Ashok Kumar, some months ago. As per police records, Kumar was killed in a road accident.
After being alerted about Dwivedi's abduction, a team headed by Shahpur police station house officer Sandeep Bhartiya rushed to Gadra village to rescue him.
But by that time, Dwivedi had died allegedly after being beaten up in a room, police said.
When the police personnel opened the room, a group of tribals attacked them with sticks and stones, injuring some of them.
The injured policemen and officers were rushed to hospitals. ASI Charan Gautam, of the Special Armed Force, succumbed to his injuries during treatment, an official said.
Heavy police force was deployed to bring the situation under control, he said.
Mauganj Collector Ajay Shrivastava and Superintendent of Police Rachna Thakur in a video message said section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which relates to maintaining public order and preventing disturbances, has been clamped in the area.
The collector said the situation is fully under control.
Both the officials appealed to the people to let police and authorities do their work and help them maintain peace in the area.
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