Cops trying to nab illegal migrants mistaken as thieves, thrashed by locals in Navi Mumbai
Mumbai Police (inset: One of the officers that was injured during the incident)
Seven members of Mumbai police team, who had gone to nab illegal Bangladeshi migrants in a Navi Mumbai village, were beaten up by locals who mistook them for robbers.
Two of the policemen have sustained serious injuries in the attack and were admitted to hospital.
The incident occurred during the early hours today at Kombadbhuje village under the jurisdiction of NRI Police Station in the satellite city, an official told PTI.
“The team of Mumbai Police was beaten up by villagers under mistaken identity that they are robbers. We are registering an offence against them,” said Hemant Nagrale, Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai.
The team of Special Branch (SB) of Mumbai Police comprising an officer and six policemen had gone to apprehend Bangladeshi migrants, who were staying in the village without proper permission from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), police said.
The team after reaching the village at 3 am began to search for illegal migrants, the official said, adding, after some of the migrants started shouting and cried for help the villagers woke up and mistook the police team to be robbers.
The villagers then thrashed the policemen, he said.
All the policemen were injured in the attack, however two of them suffered serious injuries, said the officer.
This is second incident in Navi Mumbai, wherein the team of Mumbai Police’s Special Branch (SB) on the lookout for illegal Bangladeshi migrants was attacked, police said.
Earlier, the police team was attacked by the Bangladeshis in Kharghar in February 2013 in which a police sub-inspector and a constable were attacked by a crowd of around 20 people.
With agency inputs
