Pb: Cop dragged on car bonnet in Jalandhar, driver held

An assistant sub inspector of the Punjab Police was dragged on the bonnet of a car after he tried to stop the driver at a checkpoint in Jalandhar on Saturday amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.

ASI Mulkh Raj was dragged for some distance but escaped unhurt while the car driver, Anmol Mehmi (20) was nabbed by the police and public.

Mehmi was asked to stop at a police check post near Milk Bar chowk but he tried to get away. The ASI was in front of the vehicle and had no choice but to jump on the bonnet to save his life, Jalandhar Police commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said.

Police have booked Mehmi and his father (owner of the vehicle) under relevant sections including 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act. They are residents of Nakodar road in Jalandhar.

Bhullar said there is zero tolerance policy towards such acts committed against government officials deputed on curfew duty. He also warned of stern action against any individual indulging in such crimes.

The incident comes close on the heels of the brutal attack on a policeman wherein his hand was chopped off by a group of Nihang Sikhs while enforcing coronavirus lockdown in Patiala.