Chandigarh traffic cop suffers 'hit-and-run' of another kind

Motorists in Chandigarh may be wary of being caught by traffic policemen but the latter are themselves also at the receiving end from certain drivers.

In a recent incident, a traffic policeman, who had attempted to stop a youth driving a luxury car while talking on his mobile phone, had to fight for his life after the motorist sped away with the policeman on the bonnet of the car.

Two youths, identified as Aftab Singh and Karambir Singh, from Mohali town, were later booked for the incident. They have been charged with attempt to murder.

The incident happened Sunday on the road dividing Sector 9 and 10 in Chandigarh's upscale area.

The policeman was carried on the car's bonnet for over 500 metres in a protected area of the city. He finally fell off the car and suffered injuries. It was only when some other people called the police control room (PCR) that the policeman was saved.

The traffic constable, Devinder Singh, tried desperately to stop the car and was seen trying to hit the windshied of the car with his helmet but the driver did not bother to stop the car. Police officials allege that the youth were drunk when the incident happened.

A senior police official told IANS that this was not the first incident of its kind with traffic policemen.

"In recent months, we have seen several incidents of policemen being dragged and hit by motorists when they were stopped for traffic violations," the officer said.

Police sources said that over 20 such incidents have happened with traffic police personnel this year itself.

"In recent months, police personnel have been left with fractured limbs and other serious injuries by traffic offenders. In most cases, the offenders are youth. Even women have done such acts, endangering the lives of police personnel," Rajinder Kumar, a traffic policemen, said.

In other cases, the policemen have been slapped, abused, threatened and manhandled by traffic offenders.

In an earlier incident, a traffic policeman was driven around on the bonnet of the car of a traffic offender for over 20 minutes.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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