Chaat shop owner, associates assault cops; arrested

The city police on Thursday arrested the owner of a fast-food joint and three of his associates for assaulting two beat constables.

The policemen had intercepted the men while they were moving suspiciously on a scooter in Hulimavu.

The accused snatched the lathi from constable Chandrashekhar P (26), chased and beat him until the cane broke into two pieces. Meanwhile, the other accused overpowered constable Siddu Nayak (28) and assaulted him before he fell onto the ground.

Vinod Guru, owner of a chaat shop, and his associates Divyajyothi Das, Ameer Biswankar and Ajay Thaman were arrested.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 1 am on Thursday. Chandrashekhar and Nayak were on night rounds when two men on a black scooter went past in a rash and negligent manner.

The policemen chased and stopped the scooter near an apartment in Nanjappa Layout, Arekere.

Cops demanded IDs

They questioned the riders about what they were doing at that hour, demanding identity proofs and vehicle documents.

The two riders raised an alarm, following which two more men from a nearby building joined them. One of them suddenly became aggressive and snatched Chandrashekhar’s lathi and started beating him. Caught by surprise, Chandrashekhar tried to flee. The accused then mounted such a vigorous assault that the lathi broke into two pieces.

Meanwhile, the three others overpowered Nayak and assaulted him with stones while kicking him before he fell to the ground.

Sensing danger, Chandrashekhar alerted the control room, following which a Hoysala patrol vehicle rushed to the spot.

Within a few minutes, the accused were nabbed while trying to flee after spotting the patrol vehicle. They were taken to the station and later remanded in judicial custody.

The accused stayed at a rented house adjacent to the chaat shop near the apartment in Arekere, a senior police officer said.