Cop chasing bootlegger dies after colleague's car hit him

A police constable chasing vehicle of a suspected bootlegger was killed when he was knocked down by car of his colleague who was also part of the pursuit, at Adesar checkpost in Kutch district, police said today.
The incident occurred at around 3:30 PM yesterday at Rapar taluka of the district when the constable, Hasmukh Mandh (30) was chasing the SUV of the suspect.
"Upon seeing a black Scorpio car, Mandh signalled it to stop. However, when the driver of the SUV ignored him and drove away, Mandh started chasing the SUV in his car while his colleague Pradeep Chaudhari also joined the chase in his own car," said Adesar sub-inspector V R Chaudhari.

Meanwhile, Mandh managed to overtake the SUV near Chitrod village and pulled over his car alongside the road.
"He then got down from his car and tried to flag down the SUV. However, the driver sped away," he said.
However, Chaudhary, who was following the SUV closely in his car, couldn't see Mandh standing by the road and hit him.

Mandh was rushed to a hospital in Bhachau where he succumbed to his injuries an hour later, the sub-inspector said.
A case of accidental death was registered in this regard and investigations are on.
Meanwhile, police managed to nab the driver of the SUV, identified as Jinesh Thakkar, in the wee hours today.

"Thakkar was nabbed by Local Crime Branch at around 2 AM when he was passing from Bhuj after delivering illegal liquor worth Rs 1.46 lakh, which he brought in his car from Tharad in Banaskantha district," the sub-inspector said.