PATNA: In a virtual revolt against senior officers on Friday, around 400 trainee constables, most of them women, went on the rampage in and outside the Police Lines here for more than four hours over the death of a colleague, Savita Pathak (22). Savita was suffering from dengue and was allegedly denied leave.

Not only did the trainees try to lynch DSP Mohammad Mashluddin for denying leave to Savita, they also manhandled Rural SP, City SPs of

central and east, and several DSPs when they reached there to pacify them.

Several police officers up to DSP rank were injured in the violence on the premises at Lodipur under the Buddha Colony police station. The trainees were so furious that even SSP Manu Maharaaj could not enter the premises for over 40 minutes around 12.

The trainees alleged that Savita had been suffering from high fever for the last three days but despite that the DSP did not grant her leave. On top of it, he forced her to perform traffic duty near Kargil Chowk.

Savita was taken to a private hospital on Wednesday morning but she died there within a few hours. Chief minister Nitish Kumar has sought a report from DGP KS Dwivedi on the unprecedented incident within three days.

The DGP, who was in Delhi, told a TV channel that the young recruits were yet to be trained and they might have been provoked by someone to protest over their colleague’s death in an indisciplined and violent manner. The DGP has asked DIG (central range) Rajesh Kumar to probe the violence.

As soon as the violence began, the situation turned serious. The bodyguards of senior police officers fired at least four rounds in the air to keep the trainees at bay. All this while, the trainees kept on smashing police vehicles parked on the premises. They also ransacked the office and residence of the sergeant major. Later, they came out of the complex and indulged in acts of vandalism, damaging vehicles and shops in the area.

When they damaged a CCTV camera installed at a nearby temple and tried to take away its hard drive to destroy the evidence, the locals started throwing stones and bricks at them. The trainees then retreated to the Police Lines and hurled stones and bricks at the locals in retaliation. At least 10 people were injured in the attack. Some media persons were also hurt.

Mashluddin’s mother Haruna Khatoon, wife Anjum Ara and 20-year-old daughter Amrin Ajeen were also manhandled. His wife told TOI that the trainees barged into their residence while chasing the DSP. “We stood at the door leading to the room where he was hiding. I told them they would have to kill all of us before entering the room,” Anjum said. “Mashluddin is in hospital and his condition is serious,” she added.