Kozhikode, Kerala:
A man bit off a part of an excise official's ear on Friday when the latter detained him for allegedly transporting illegally India-made foreign liquor (IMFL) at nearby Koilandy in Kerala, officials said.
Assistant Inspector K Satishan, part of an excise team on a routine vehicle check, was bitten on his left ear by the man and has been hospitalised.
The excise team was on a routine vehicle check when they signalled an autorickshaw, in which two persons were travelling, to stop but it did not.
After a chase, the officials intercepted the auto and found 240 bottles of IMFL, being brought from neighbouring Mahe, an enclave of Union Territory of Puducherry.
As the two occupants were being detained, one of them bit the excise official's ear.
Sathisan was admitted to the Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode where he would undergo plastic surgery, doctors said.
Police have arrested the two persons.