Police constable killed while trying to nab criminal

A police constable was today killed by an alleged burglar in Dongri area of south Mumbai.
Ajay Gawand (43), the deceased, was attached to the Dongri police station.
The accused Santosh Salvi (35) was subsequently arrested, police said.
The incident took place at about 2 am when Gawand and his colleagues rushed to a building near Wadi Bunder off P D'Mello Road after receiving a call from the locals about a trespasser.
Salvi, who was holed up on the terrace of the two-storey building, bolted the door from inside. When police tried to enter the premises, he pelted them with stones.

"The accused had locked the entrance from inside, so Gawand climbed up to the terrace along with a local person," said additional police commissioner Krishna Prakash.

They asked Salvi to surrender, however, he attacked Gawand with a wooden plank, hitting him on the head and causing him to collapse.
Gawand died at a nearby hospital while undergoing treatment, police said, adding that other policemen and locals overpowered Salvi.
He was cremated with full honours and a gun salute in the presence of senior police officers in suburban Mulund.