A 22-year-old man who attacked a policeman in an attempted armed robbery late on Thursday was arrested after a 20-minute chase.
Shivaji Rane (45), a police naik at the railway commissioner’s office, was strolling at Five Gardens, Matunga, when the accused, Raju Shekhar, allegedly attacked him with a sickle around 11.15 pm.
Rane, a diabetic, was out for his daily walk, as suggested by his family doctor.
“Having reached the garden at 10 pm, I walked a couple of rounds and later sat down on a bench,” said Rane, a resident of the railway quarters at Dadar (East). “Suddenly, Shekhar accosted me from behind and having pointed a sickle on my neck, directed me not to raise an alarm and surrender all valuables including my mobile phone.”
When Rane told his attacker that he was a policeman, Shekhar, instead of backing off, attacked him with the sickle.
“In a bid to save himself, Rane held the accused’s right hand but the sickle hit his mobile phone, which broke. Rane, who got injured on the right thumb, punched him a couple of times,” said Police Inspector H.G. Mane of the Matunga police.Residents sitting in the garden nearby raised an alarm. Five policemen on patrol in a police van heard the commotion and came to inquire into the matter.
“Shekhar, in an attempt to save himself, ran out of the garden. However, Rane along with a number of local residents and
the police van kept trailing him while the accused moved from one lane to the other in the residential area,” Mane said.
“Shekhar stumbled several times but kept running till we surrounded him near Utsav restaurant in Wadala after a 20-minute chase,” Rane said.
“Shekhar, in an attempt to save himself, ran out of the garden. However, Rane along with a number of local residents and
the police van kept trailing him while the accused moved from one lane to the other in the residential area,” Mane said.
“Shekhar stumbled several times but kept running till we surrounded him near Utsav restaurant in Wadala after a 20-minute chase,” Rane said.
Shekhar has been booked for attempt to robbery and possession of weapon. “We have arrested him under sections 393, 394 and 398 of Indian Penal Code for attempt to robbery using a sharp weapon and for causing grievous hurt,” Mane said. “We are verifying with other police stations whether he has a past record.”