Police personnel in plain clothes, who were taking a notorious criminal in an unmarked jeep, were assaulted by locals after they mistook them for kidnappers, police said here on Monday.
The incident took place on Sunday at Dabauli locality in Govindnagar area.
The criminal escaped while people pelted stones at the jeep, which was later set on fire by the locals, DIG Amitabh Yash said.
Some of the policemen were also injured in the incident, he said.
On a tip-off that notorious criminal Ashok Nut, against whom several cases of dacoity and loot have been lodged, was residing in a rented house in Dabauli with his family, a police team in plain clothes nabbed him in an undercover operation last night, Yash said.
However, since the personnel were in plain clothes, his family members thought Nut was getting abducted and started shouting, he said.
Following this, people from the area surrounded the police jeep and started pelting stones, he said.
In the ensuing confusion, Nut managed to escape and fled with his family members, he said.
Some of the police personnel were hurt in the stone pelting, the DIG said, adding that several rounds were fired in the air to disperse the crowds.
A case has been lodged against Nut and his family. Cases were also lodged against unknown persons who indulged in stone-pelting, he said.