Teen motorist held for crashing into traffic cop, dragging him along

Mumbai: A traffic police constable from Vasai had to cling on to the bonnet of a car after the driver jumped a signal and refused to stop, crashed into the official and dragged him along for some distance on Sunday evening

Mumbai: A traffic police constable from Vasai had to cling on to the bonnet of a car after the driver jumped a signal and refused to stop, crashed into the official and dragged him along for some distance on Sunday evening. The driver, who has been arrested and booked for attempt to murder, turned out to be a 19-year-old, who did not have a driving licence. The policeman emerged unscathed from the incident.

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The constable, Somnath Chowdhary, was on duty at Vasai East when he noticed a car, with Uttar Pradesh number plate (UP 32DJ 7707), speeding after jumping a signal.

According to the Manikpur police, the incident took place around 7.30pm on Sunday when Chowdhary flagged the white car to stop. The driver identified as Safer Siddique (19) refused to comply and instead started speeding. That’s when Chowdhary tried to stop the car by standing in the middle of the road.

“The driver did not stop and crashed into the constable. Chowdhary, who landed on the bonnet of the speeding car, did not let go and hung on to it with both his hands, as the car dragged him along for some distance,” said an officer from Manikpur police station. The officers said that Siddique was with a passenger when the incident took place.

Chowdhary, in his statement to the police, said that at the range office signal when traffic was slow, he signalled to a passer-by who helped him and blocked the car from going ahead. “As the driver hit the brakes I fell down and immediately, forced the car driver to get off the vehicle,” said Chowdhary.

Chowdhary then found out that Siddique did not have a licence. “I immediately called for back-up and took Siddique to the Manikpur police station and got a case registered against him,” added Chowdhary. The police then booked Siddique for attempt to murder and arrested him.

“The accused was produced before a local court on Monday and remanded to police custody,” said the officer.