Om Kant Thakur, a 2020 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre was attacked by four people when he went to take action against illegal miners in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
Thakur, who is serving as SDM Mandi Sadar, suffered bruises on face and fractured one of his teeth. Police have arrested the main accused, while three are still absconding.
The injured IAS officer has been discharged from the Civil Hospital Mandi after treatment late at night.
District collector of Mandi Apoorv Devgan, a 2015 batch IAS officer, ADM Dr Madan Kumar and other senior officials rushed to the hospital. Devgan said that all accused will soon be behind bars.
According to the police, Om Kant Thakur reached the Vindravani area on the banks of the Beas river at around 7 pm on Monday. As soon as they reached the spot, some people and labourers fled from there. Meanwhile, one Hiralal and three others started arguing with the SDM.
Hiralal, who was intoxicated with alcohol, first started making videos of SDM and started challenging Thakur's authority. While talking, Hiralal and others became aggressive. They attacked the SDM. The SDM suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Accused fled from the spot after the attack
It is being reported that all the accused fled from the spot after the attack. Hiralal was nabbed by the police within two hours, but three others are still at run. According to the information so far, the attackers were illegally transporting sand from the Beas river.
Injured SDM hospitalised in Mandi
It is being reported that during this time, the attackers also tried to hit the SDM with stones. But a major incident was averted due to the presence of mind of the driver of SDM, who immediately drove Thakur away.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
