Patna: Rampaging criminals chopped off the ear of a retired Indian trooper after he refused to shave off his long, bushy moustache.

Police said the outlaws saw the former army soldier’s moustache as an open challenge to their authority in the region and had directed him to get rid of his “prized possession” but the victim chose to ignore their warning.

The incident took place at Bihta town in Bihar’s Patna district on Monday night but was reported in the local media only on Wednesday.

Police said the retired soldier was returning home on his motorbike on Monday night when the criminals who came his way again asked him to shave off his long moustache.

His refusal to give in to their demands angered the criminals who then cut off the soldier’s left ear with a sharp-edged knife. Reports said the criminals also thrashed the soldier before fleeing the scene.

“Don’t try to intimidate us with your moustache? Get them removed soon or we will root them out,” a local police official Sanjeet Kumar Sinha quoted the victim as having been told by the criminals before being attacked.

The police have registered a case and raids are being conducted to nab the absconding criminals.

“The police have identified the criminals involved in the attack and are conducting raids to nab them,” the police official Sinha told Gulf News on Wednesday.

The victim has been admitted to a local government hospital for treatment.