A CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: A night patrol organized by villagers to prevent cattle theft led to a tense confrontation with police in Dibrugarh's Maijan Natun Gaon area, where officers fired shots in the air to disperse an angry crowd in the early hours of Friday. Villagers said that thefts had been taking place for more than a week. As a result, local youths decided to stay awake at night during the New Year period to keep watch. Around 4 am, they noticed a suspicious vehicle moving through the village. When they tried to stop it, the people inside allegedly attempted to escape.
After the road was blocked, the vehicle stopped, but the occupants refused to come out. The villagers then informed the police.
The situation worsened after the police arrived and allegedly allowed the vehicle to leave without questioning those inside. This angered the villagers, who accused the police of protecting cattle thieves and began protesting. As tensions rose and some villagers moved towards the police, officers fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd. Additional police personnel were deployed to bring the situation under control.
Speaking to mediapersons at the site, SSP Abhijit Gurav Dilip confirmed the sequence of events. The SSP stated that the three occupants of the vehicle had been brought to Dibrugarh police station for questioning. "So far, we have got no evidence that they were cattle thieves. Further interrogation is going on. Lawful action will also be taken against those who tried to take law into their own hands," he said.
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