Cops under attack: 2 constables beaten

CHENNAI: The growing incidence of policemen coming under attack from the lay public in the city, most of them drunk, is causing concern among residents as well as the law-enforcers. In the latest instance, two men in khaki discharging their duty were beaten up by drunk men in separate incidents on Thursday night.

Around 11pm, a constable on night duty at the patrol booth in front of Chennai Central Railway station spotted three people creating a ruckus and asked them to clear off.

The three, who were drunk, noisily argued with Senthil Kumar before leaving the spot. The constable, who is attached to the Flower Bazaar police station, remained in the booth when the three youths came back around 1am on a bike.

They were armed with stones. Before the policeman realised what was happening, they hurled the stones at him, leaving him with bleeding injuries.

Hearing his cries, another constable rushed to the spot and the three men sped away on their bike.

Senthil Kumar was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where he is recovering. Based on a complaint, the Flower Bazaar police registered a case and launched a search for the three men. “We have identified the men with the help of CCTV camera footage from the spot,” said an officer.

The same night, a drunk biker set upon a traffic head constable with an iron rod and a hacksaw blade near Sharma Nagar in Vyasarpadi, under MKB Nagar police station limits.

The assailant, 40-year-old B Maran of Vysarpadi, was later traced and arrested before a court sent him to jail.

Head constable Muthuraman of the Kodungaiyur traffic wing was regulating vehicles near Sharma Nagar when he saw that a load autorickshaw driver had collided with biker Maran and the two were in the midst of a heated argument. They had almost come to blows when Muthraman approached and tried to sort out the issue.

Maran, however, refused to budge and kept hurling abuses at the auto driver. After Muthuraman warned them of severe action, the two left the place. Maran returned after a while and attacked Muthuraman with a iron rod and inflicted injuries using a hacksaw blade before some members of the public chased him away.

A few policemen near the spot took the injured Muthurman to the Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital.