People coming to Race Course Road every evening for a walk staged a road blockade for about 20 minutes on Sunday evening, infuriated over four youths knocking down a cyclist during a bike race on the thoroughfare.
Madasamy (29), an employee at a newspaper office on Avanashi Road, suffered injuries in the leg and was admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Instantly after the accident, walkers who normally kept to an exclusive track, gathered on the road and decided to protest against what they called a persistent, unchecked menace.
Accusing the youth of going berserk with their racing on a public road, the walkers of Race Course put a part of the blame on the police.
“There were police on this road. But they did not stop the youths from running amok,” said a walker.
The accident would not have occurred had the racing been stopped immediately, he said.
Complaining that motorcycle and car race by youths took place almost every evening, he said that on Sunday evening the four youths on as many bikes indulged in the race for almost an hour. Nothing was done to stop them from riding at blinding speed. But, the police arrived soon enough to remove the blockade, the walker complained.
The police, however, took into custody swiftly one of the riders, identified as Hameed of K.K. Pudur.
Search on
A search was on to nab the other three who fled the scene.
The walkers called off the blockade after demanding a permanent measure to end the racing on this road.
