Sword-wielding man says he acted in ‘self-defence’

The 45-year-old driver and his son have been booked under four Indian Penal Code sections, which mainly pertain to assaulting and injuring public servants. The driver was not arrested until late Monday.

A ‘Gramin Sewa’ driver who allegedly attacked a team of policemen with a sword outside Mukherjee Nagar police station on Sunday said that he had used the weapon in “self-defence”.

A ‘Gramin Sewa’ driver who allegedly attacked a team of policemen with a sword outside Mukherjee Nagar police station on Sunday said that he had used the weapon in “self-defence”.

“Had it been anyone else in my place, he would have done the same,” said the man who, along with his 15-year-old son, was thrashed and dragged on the road by the police even after being overpowered and disarmed as shown in video footage of the incident.

The 45-year-old driver and his son have been booked under four Indian Penal Code sections, which mainly pertain to assaulting and injuring public servants. The driver was not arrested until late Monday.

Madhur Verma, Delhi Police’s spokesperson, said arrest would be made only after the crime branch completes its investigation.

When asked why a case of attempt to murder was not filed against the driver despite allegedly causing a deep gash on a policeman’s head with a sword, Verma said any such call would be taken based on the medical report of the injured policemen.

Hindustan Times is not identifying the father-son duo as the boy has been booked for assault and the law does not allow the identification of a minor accused in any manner.

According to the driver’s 74-year-old father, it all began around 6.30pm on Sunday when a Gramina Sewa being driven by his son and minor grandson was hit by a police vehicle from behind while they were seeking passengers near the Mukherjee Nagar police station.

“A policeman hurled abuses at my son which made him aggressive. My grandson pacified my son and took him away, but the policeman chased and forced them to halt,” said the driver’s father.

The driver, in his complaint to the police, said that a threat from the policeman had triggered the event. During the argument, he alleged, the policeman brought a stick from his Gypsy and threatened to break his leg.

“Abhi teri taangein todta hoon (I’ll break your legs now)”, he alleged, adding that later another policeman threatened to shoot dead his son.

A video footage of the incident showed the driver threatening policemen with his sword and his son ram policemen with his vehicle before they were overpowered and thrashed on the street by a police team.

He alleged that his turban was thrown on the road and the policemen pulled his beard. He also alleged that his minor son was thrashed inside the police lock-up, fracturing his arm.

The father-son duo live in a single room house in north Delhi’s Gandhi Vihar.

“My son is a divorcee. His daughter lives with her aunt elsewhere in the city,” said the driver’s aged father who drives an auto-rickshaw to earn his livelihood.

“My son shuffles between various jobs. He would earlier drive a bus and an auto-rickshaw. Since the past few months, he and my grandson began driving someone’s Gramin Sewa,” said the man.