Two beat constables and a head constable found themselves to be at the receiving end in two incidents here — one on Sunday evening and the other in the early hours of Monday.
Head Constable Kumar and Constable Prabhakar attached to Mahadevapura police station were attacked by an armed group while they tried to catch a man red-handed on Mahadevapura ring road in the early hours of Monday.
According to the police, the incident happened after two armed men on a motorcycle intercepted a goods vehicle transporting mattresses to Dharmapuri, and robbed the driver of his mobile phone and Rs. 3,000 in cash at knife point. Kumar and Prabhakar, who were on night rounds on their motorcycle, confronted the two men and tried to catch them. Suddenly, four others, who came on two motorcycles, joined their associates and attacked Kumar and Prabhakar. The gang sped away in two motorcycles, but left behind one of their bikes in a hurry to escape.
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The injured policemen alerted the control room seeking reinforcements. Even as the two constables were shifted to hospital, a red alert was sounded in the city and barricades were set up at entry and exit points to catch the offenders, but in vain.
Based on a complaint, the Mahadevapura police have taken up a case of robbery and assault. A manhunt is on for the offenders.
Kumar who fractured his hand in the attack has been admitted to Victoria Hospital for treatment. “We have obtained clues about the accused and they will be arrested soon,” Mahadevapura police said.
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In the other incident, a beat constable attached to Banasawadi police was beaten up by a group of foreign students who had had a few drinks, in front of a bar and restaurant on Kammanahalli main road here on Sunday night.
Constable Raghu, who was on night rounds, rushed towards a bar and restaurant along with his colleague Dondaiah Hiremath on a motorcycle, following a complaint that the group, in an inebriated state, was creating a ruckus in front of the bar. Raghu noticed that the group members were fighting among themselves creating public nuisance and tried to intervene even as his colleague sat on the bike. The group roughed up Raghu in the melee following which he sustained severe head injuries.
While the rest of the group managed to escape, passers-by and a few autorickshaw drivers rushed to the policeman’s help and managed to catch one of them who was then taken to the Banasawadi police station. A case has been booked against him for attacking policemen on duty.