Drunk driver jumps signal, assaults traffic policeman

A traffic policeman was allegedly abused and attacked by a drunk motorist after he flagged him down for jumping signal at a busy intersection in eastern Bengaluru on Saturday.

Maulasab Kannalli, a constable from the KR Puram traffic police station, was manning the vehicular movement near the ITI Gate in KR Puram when he noticed the driver of a goods vehicle jumping the signal and driving rashly.

Kannalli intercepted the vehicle and asked the driver, later identified as Naveen Kumar, to pull over for document verification. But Kumar got angry and allegedly started hurling abuses at the policeman for stopping his vehicle. He then jumped out of the vehicle along with an associate named Anand G N and attacked Kannalli.

Passersby came to the rescue of the cop and called the police control room. The KR Puram (law and order) police arrived at the spot and hauled up both Kumar and Anand to the police station.

Kumar was subjected to a breathalyser test which showed that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. Based on a complaint from Kannalli, the KR Puram police booked Kumar and Anand for assaulting and obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties, drunk-driving and criminal intimidation.