A constable deployed at Kolkata’s Tilajala police station and two civic volunteers were injured while trying to stop a car that had violated lockdown rules on Saturday.
West Bengal has imposed a state-wide lockdown in fear of the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The state, along with Bihar, has witnessed a high rise in the number of cases in the past fortnight.
Footage that was shared on social media showed how the traffic police spotted a brown car with two boys and a girl at Science City on EM Bypass Road at 7 am on Saturday. The cops tried stopping the vehicle, but the driver sped away and took the flyover that leads to Patuli area on the bypass.
The cop on duty informed his colleague on the other side of the flyover who tried intercepting the vehicle by setting up barricades.
However, instead of halting, the driver accelerated into the barricades injuring a policeman and two civic officials. The driver attempted to reverse the vehicle, but other cops present at the site put a barricade behind the vehicle. Locals present in the area also intervened and pulled the trio out of the car.
In the video that has since gone viral, the boys are seen arguing with the police that they know the law. The vehicle driver also claimed that he did not own the vehicle.
“They tell me they know the law. They do not know anything. They have broken the law during lockdown. I may be injured but I have to do my duty,” said Mrinmoy Das, the constable who sustained injuries.
The cops have even said that the trio was driving under the influence of alcohol. The girl, who was in the front passenger seat, kept hiding her face and refused to get out of the vehicle. She was seen calling someone from her mobile phone. Only after a woman constable arrived, was the girl forced to get out of the vehicle.
The trio has been taken to Tiljala police station.