Two 17-year-olds held for dragging cops on car bonnet

The minors are students of Class 11 of a private school and took the car out without informing their parents, police said

NEW DELHI

A still from a video of the incident. (HT Photo)

Two minors, cousins, were apprehended for allegedly ramming into and then dragging two traffic police officers on their car bonnet in Kishangarh on Saturday evening, police said, adding they did not stop the vehicle as they had taken it out without informing their parents. They were driving from their house in Vasant Kunj to Mehrauli, police said.

Following the incident, the police cracked the case by tracking the registration number of the vehicle and apprehended the two Class 12 students of a private school. Legal action has been initiated against the owner of the car, they said.

“After questioning the family to whom the car belonged, it was found that the car was being driven by a minor and his cousin, also a 17-year-old, was sitting in the passenger seat with him,” a senior police officer said.

Videos of the incident surfaced online and quickly went viral, as the internet took notice of the officers who clung onto the bonnet of the car all the while it crossed the junction, took a U-turn and moved on the other side of the road. The two officers then fell off and still tried to stop the car, but to no avail.

The two officers were identified as assistant sub-inspector Pramod Singh and head constable Sailesh Chouhan. They sustained minor injuries and were discharged from Safdarjung Hospital after treatment, deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Surendra Choudhary said.

DCP Choudhary said that the two officers, posted at the Vasant Vihar traffic circle, were issuing mobile prosecution challans on Vedant Deshika Marg around 7.45pm, when a white car jumped the red light and travelled in their direction. “Chouhan signalled the car to stop and initially, the driver of the car stopped the car. When Chouhan asked the driver to exit the car, the driver tried to run away from the spot, dragged them for about 20 metres on the bonnet, later hit them and fled the spot,” the DCP said.

“The officers alleged that the car driver had created obstruction in their official duty and further tried to kill the above police officers by dragging them on his car. According to facts, circumstances and statements given by the injured officers, prima facia offence of attempt to murder, and obstruction in the discharge of official duty is made out,” an officer said.

A case under section 109(1)/221/132/121(1)/3(5) of the BNS was registered on Saturday.