Irate duo takes on cops on vehicle-checking duty, held

Vehicle checking by Chandra Layout police to keep criminal elements at bay turned ugly when motorists abused and tried assaulting them recently.

Police arrested Ashok Raj, 28, and 26-year-old Harish in connection with the incident based on a complaint by Shashikumar C S, 28, a constable posted at the Chandra Layout police. While Ashok is a resident of Arundathinagar, Harish is from Malagala.

At 7.10 pm on March 15, police tried to stop youngsters riding triples on a scooter at 14th Main in Attiguppe. Shashikumar and his colleague, deployed for vehicle checking at Attiguppe, chased to nab them. The scooter was heading towards Ganapathi Circle.

The trio nearly fell in their attempt to escape the police. A motorist who witnessed the incident abused the police. “Who asked you to check vehicles and who would be responsible if the trio got injured? Don’t you have anything else to do,” the motorist asked the cops. The motorist also asked the public to join him in the abuse of police. The incident caused a traffic jam.

One of them accused the police of regularly harassing the public and said the harassment would continue if the cops were spared. They tried to assault Shashikumar and his colleague.

Shashikumar called for backup on his wireless and the police who arrived at the scene detained two people. It emerged that Ashok first abused the police and Harish tried assaulting them. Both their vehicles have been seized.

A senior official from the Chandra Layout police station said top officers had instructed them to check vehicles as part of their duty to prevent crimes. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. “But the public misunderstood our men and caused a ruckus.”

But the public felt it would be better if the police checked vehicles either late night or during major crime incidents. Vehicle checking during peak hours will lead to conflicts, they added.

The two arrested motorists have been booked for assault or obstruction to public servant when suppressing riot and provoking to cause riot.