M A I N   N E W S

2 killed as cops, villagers clash
Shiv Sharma

Bhiwani, December 18
Two youths were killed and more than 25 persons, including 15 policemen, injured in a clash that took place between villagers and the police in Kharak village, 18 km from here, today. Six of the injured were referred to the medical college, Rohtak, where two of them were declared as “brought dead” by doctors. The deceased have been identified as Verender (22) and Sandeep (21) of Kharak village.

The villagers had blocked the main Bhiwani-Rohtak road in Kharak village over alleged police inaction in tracing two missing village boys — Chhotu Ram and Shiv Kumar — who had gone to attend the marriage of a relative in Chhuchhakwas village in Jhajjar district on December 14. Relatives had lodged a complaint about the missing boys with the police.

The villagers raised anti-police slogans. When the police tried to lift the road blockade, the villagers got angry and after a verbal duel, they allegedly started throwing stones at the police.

The police resorted to a mild lathicharge. Villagers from Kharak and the nearby villages reportedly brought arms and allegedly fired at the police.

Fifteen policemen and some others, who were injured in the incident, have been admitted to the Civil Hospital. Six persons got injured seriously with brickbats in the incident and were taken to the medical college in Rohtak, where two of them were declared “brought dead”. Meanwhile, a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the firing incident.