Police station attack: 18 Army jawans held

As many as 18 jawans of Army's School of Artillery have been arrested for allegedly vandalising a police station on Nashik-Pune Highway here and attacking policemen on duty, a senior police officer said here today.
They have been booked under various sections of IPC, including criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing grievous hurt and for outraging the modesty of women, police said.
The incident occurred last afternoon when around 100-150 jawans, clad in track suits, arrived at Upnagar police station on motorcycles and went on a rampage there by damaging furniture, wireless equipment, telephone sets and also allegedly manhandled women police personnel.

Three policemen were injured in the attack, one of them seriously, police had said.
"We arrested 18 jawans last night itself from Lam Road in Deolali Camp area and also impounded 10 motorcycles that were used by them," Desai said, adding police have also slapped section 3 of Public Property Damage Act, 1995 against the jawans.
The attack was apparently to avenge the detention of three Army personnel, including an officer of School of Artillery, Deolali, by police on Tuesday night following an altercation over parking of their vehicle at the gate of the police station.

The trouble began when the Lieutenant-rank officer Ashish Bagul, who is said to be the friend of a local BJP leader, accompanied the latter who wanted to register a complaint in connection with a personal matter.

According to police, the officer parked his motorcycle in such a way that it was blocking the entrance of police station.
"When asked to take away the two-wheeler they started arguing with police and roughed up our staff, following which we detained them and registered an FIR," Desai had said.
The FIR named Bagul and one Jayant Narad, the BJP leader from Nashikroad area. They were booked under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) by police.
Senior officers of School of Artillery, Deolali, visited the police station last night.