Wrong-way cab driver punches traffic cop with car keys

A traffic police officer was allegedly punched in the face by a cab driver when he questioned him for driving down a busy one-way service road in southeastern Bengaluru on August 23.

Karadi Hanumanthappa, 32, a constable at the HAL Traffic police station, was manning the traffic on the outer ring road near Kadubeesanahalli. Around 10.55 am, there was a sudden traffic jam. When he looked into the road, he saw a cabbie driving into the one-way from the Cessna Business Park side. He asked the cabbie to drive back the same way but the latter refused. Hanumanthappa started making an entry in the FTVR book. Field Traffic Violation Report, or FTVR, is a record of traffic violations on the ground.

Seeing this, the driver, identified as Sandeep, came out of the cab and got into an argument with the policeman. He allegedly grabbed his uniform and dragged him on the road. He then took the car keys and hit him near the eyes and the body. The policeman sustained gashes under his eyes and wounds on the body.

Hanumanthappa called up his colleagues who rushed to the spot and detained the cab driver with the help of other motorists. The cabbie was taken to the Marathahalli police station and booked for assaulting a public servant on duty. His cab was seized and a court sent him to jail.