The Nerul police on Saturday arrested a man who assaulted a police officer who was trying to bust a gambling gang.
The accused, identified as Arun Sutar (33), was employed at a pump house run by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Sutar stayed with his family in a building in Sector 20 in Nerul and often gambled with his friends on the building’s terrace.
On September 15, Assistant Police Inspector Manish Kolhatkar, attached to Nerul police, received a tip-off that a group of men were gambling on the terrace of a building. Mr. Kolhatkar and a team of five police officers reached the spot. The gang members attempted to flee as the team tried to nab them.
When Mr. Kolhatkar caught the accused, he punched him on his nose and eye. Mr. Kolhatkar sustained injuries and was admitted to D.Y. Patil Hospital in Nerul. “When we reached the spot, there were 37 people. Four of them tried to assault us,” Mr. Kolhatkar said.
Assistant Police Inspector Vijaykumar Kawle said, “The three others who assaulted the police are reported to have left Navi Mumbai. We have launched a search for them. Sutar was arrested when he returned home to meet his family.”
Sutar was charged under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the IPC and the Gambling Act. Sutar has been remanded in judicial custody.
