NASHIK: Around 150 army personnel allegedly vandalized the Upanagar police station here on Wednesday afternoon, injuring three policemen, one of them seriously. The attack came a day after an army officer was booked by the police for parking his motorcycle in front of the police station.

Police officials said the armymen , who were not wearing their uniforms, went on a rampage at the police station at 2.20 pm after pelting stones at the cops. The attack created tension in the area, which also houses a Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Speaking to TOI, a police officer said, “The armymen disconnected the telephone lines, hit a woman constable on the back and roughed up other policemen. The injured policemen have been admitted to hospital. They also locked up woman police inspector Namrata Desai in a room. They fled after 20 minutes while warning of dire consequences if any case was registered against them.”

Army officials who came to the police station later refused to comment on the incident.

The process of registering a case against the armymen was going on till late in the evening. Police commissioner Kulwant Kumar Sarangal said around 14-15 charges were to be imposed on them. Some of the IPC sections that were slapped on the armymen included 353 (deterring a public servant from performing his duty), 307 (attempt to murder), 144 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 351 (physical assault).

Speaking about the incident, Sarangal said that the police had booked the army officer, Ashish Bagul, as his parked motorcycle was blocking the entrance to the police station. “When a sub-inspector asked him to remove his vehicle, the officer held him by the collar. There was an exchange of blows between the two, following which the police registered an offence under section 353. The officer and his friend were handed over to army authorities immediately and the matter was closed on Tuesday night. However, on Wednesday afternoon, the police station came under attack. The attackers also outraged the modesty of a senior woman police official. About 25 suspects have been detained in various police stations in the city in connection with the incident.”

A woman police official said that the attackers did not leave any scope for the cops to react. “Some of us were having lunch, while others were busy in routine work. Several of our personnel were also not around at the time. Some of them had been sent to the Nashik Road police station to attend to another incident that had happened there. A few other personnel were providing security at a programme organized by a political party,” she said.