Himmatnagar (Gujarat), Mar 9 (IANS): An IAS officer was held hostage for hours and thrashed by a group of fishermen here, said the police on Thursday.

The incident happened on March 4 evening, and a late night complaint was lodged against 17 persons. Of these three have been arrested and search for the rest was going on, said police.

According to the criminal complaint filed with the Vadali police station, Dinesh Natwarlal, a fisheries officer, stated, "Fisheries Director Nitin Sangwan led a team for a surprise inspection at Dharoi dam water reservoirs, where fishermen are licensed to carry out fishing activities. Fearing an action for illegal activities, a group led by Babubhai Parmar, Dilip Parmar, and 15 others attacked Nitin Sangwan and gheraoed the team; one of them bit Nitin Sangwan on his right leg near his knee."

In the complaint, the officer has further stated, "The group had a heated argument with the officer, thrashed him, and forced him to give an assurance in writing; that issue with Babubhai and others is sorted out, and Nitin Sangwan will not file any criminal complaint against them. Till the IAS officer did not give it in writing, he was not released."

Sabarkantha police swung into action and arrested three accused -- Babubhai, Dilipbhai, and Vishnu Parmar -- on Sunday, and the search for the rest of the accused was going on, said an officer.

Further details were awaited.