28-yr-old assaults, bites cop at GTB Nagar station; held

The accused, Murugesh Devendra, who is unemployed, also allegedly nearly pushed the constable, Omprakash Uddhavrao, onto the tracks, before officers of the Wadala government railway police (GRP) rescued him.

A 28-year-old man from Sion was arrested on Sunday for allegedly abusing, assaulting and biting a 27-year-old police constable who had stopped him from sleeping on the premises of GTB Nagar station. The accused, Murugesh Devendra, who is unemployed, also allegedly nearly pushed the constable, Omprakash Uddhavrao, onto the tracks, before officers of the Wadala government railway police (GRP) rescued him.

The constable, Omprakash Uddhavrao. (HT photo)

Rajendra Pal, senior inspector, Wadala GRP, said, “We’ve arrested the accused for assaulting, threatening and attempting to kill a police officer.” Uddhavrao is currently recuperating at a hospital.

According to the police, Uddhavrao was on night duty at GTB Nagar station on Sunday. In his statement, he said that while patrolling at platform number 2 around 12.05am, he noticed a man sleeping opposite the public toilet towards the Kurla-end. “As we have been asked to keep a watch on unauthorised and ticketless travellers, I went up to the accused, woke him up and asked him to leave the premises,” said Uddhavrao. The accused immediately started abusing and threatening him, said Uddhavrao.

When he called for his back-up team, Devendra started beating him, said the constable. Devendra then allegedly threatened to throw Uddhavrao in front of a train and dragged him towards the tracks. Uddhavrao said that though he tried to defend himself, Devendra overpowered him. Just as the train was about to approach, two constables spotted them and came to Uddhavrao’s rescue.

However, on seeing the officers, Devendra bit Uddhavrao’s thumb and ran towards the station exit. The two constables chased Devendra across the platform and caught him. Uddhavrao was then rushed to the hospital.