Mumbai: A 56-year-old police constable was seriously injured after a sloshed autorickshaw driver allegedly assaulted him on the head with a paver block at Powai early on Friday. Police constable Chintaman Belkar was part of a joint nakabandi by Powai police and the traffic division on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) when the incident occurred. Belkar is recuperating, and the auto driver has been arrested.
Belkar said in his statement to the police that the nakabandi was on the south-bound arm of JVLR near Powai Garden. Around 1.40 am, an autorickshaw approached the police barricade at speed. Belkar halted the vehicle and asked the auto driver, Manoj Chauhan, 28, to produce his driving licence.
“Chauhan was arrogant. A traffic policeman asked him to blow into a breathalyser, which confirmed that Chauhan was drunk,” said Belkar in his statement.
Thereafter, Chauhan was asked to get into a police van. He started to hurl abuses at Belkar and pushed him. As Belkar stumbled, Chauhan allegedly picked up a paver block from the road and hit the constable on the back of his head with it. Belkar started to bleed and screamed in pain. His colleagues rushed to his aid. Chauhan tried to flee but was heavily drunk and fell. He was taken to the police station, while Belkar was rushed to Powai Polyclinic for treatment. He later lodged a police complaint.
