A Kolkata Police constable was assaulted in Bhangar, South 24-Parganas Polerhat when a team went to intervene in a land dispute between two groups on Friday evening.

Polerhat’s Natapukur had turned into a trouble spot with members of two different families, one led by Basiruddin Mollah and Nasiruddin Mollah and the other Taufiq Mollah and Jahangir Mollah were involved in repeated clashes over possession of a plot of land.

A team from the Polerhat police’s anti-rowdy section was sent to the spot to bring the situation under control. When the cops reached the area, the villagers targeted them and threatened them to leave. They also threatened the police vehicle would be damaged.

The constable Sushanta Mondal had nabbed one of the persons involved in the attack and was dragging him to the police vehicle when he was punched and kicked. The accused was snatched and taken away in the process. Mondal was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The Polerhat police have started a case and detained persons for interrogation.

One of the most violence-prone areas in South 24-Parganas, the Bhangar division with eight police stations – Hatisala, Bhangar, Polerhat, Uttar Kashipur, Bijoyganj Bazar, Narayanpur, Bodra and Chandaneswar- were brought under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police more than a year ago.

The Kolkata Police was confident that bringing the area under its jurisdiction would help improve the law and order situation.

For several months now, on duty cops in various parts of the state have come under attack. Most of the incidents have happened when the police teams went to arrest any accused persons.

In January two criminals fled from a police van after overpowering the policemen accompanying them, snatched their service revolvers and opened fire before making a run.

Responding to the incident, the state acting DGP Rajeev Kumar had said, “If someone fires at the police, we have the capacity to fire back four times. We are trained to handle such situations.”