Rautahat, July 17:

A police team and a gang collecting scrap tax from vehicles exchanged fire in Paurai of Rautahat district along the Mahendra highway at 11 pm yesterday.

Police took possession of four motorbikes and four bicycles belonging to the gang after it fled.

ASI Bal Bahadur KC sustained injuries after a bus hit him in course of retaliation, Chandranigahapur Area Police Office said.

KC was taken to Birgunj-based Narayani sub-regional hospital for treatment, police said, adding that the bus and its driver were in custody.

Staffers of Rautahat DDC Mujifar Rahaman and Sandeep Rajbhandari were deployed to collect scrap tax with the beginning of the new fiscal year, acting local development officer Deepak Kumar Das said, adding that Rahaman had gone out of contact after the incident.