July 20, 2009 11:36:40 pm
A 65-year-old man first tries to run over a traffic cop in broad daylight in a prime locality of Pune and then drives through Pune Camp with the cop precariously perched on the bonnet.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Sengaonkar,who was passing by,follows the car and fires six rounds to force the man to stop. The man identified as a Canadian national,Kamal Jain,who has been living in the city for 10 years,is immediately arrested.
The drama was played in broad daylight on the streets of city. It all started in front of Hotel Aurora Towers on Sunday at around 11 am. Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) V V Jadhav said,I was on duty and was passing by M G Road. I spotted a car parked opposite the entrance to Aurora Towers. I went towards the car with a jammer and was putting it on the front wheel when a man emerged from a sweetmeat mart in the building. He immediately sat in the driver’s seat and started driving even as I was trying to put the jammer on the wheel. I asked him to stop,but he took the car in reverse in high speed. Then he drove away.
Jadhav jumped on to the bonnet but Jain did not stop. He steered the car in a zig-zag manner to shake the cop off the bonnet. He first took the car till Nehru Memorial Hall and took a swift U-turn and headed towards SGS Mall. From there he turned left and went to Blue Nile chowk. On the way he hit two motorcycles,which left two people injured. The commotion drew a horde of people with many following the car.
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DCP Sengaonkar passing by in his car accompanied by police constable Prashant Mandale spotted Jadhav on the bonnet. He put on the police siren and signalled Jain to stop. From Blue Nile chowk,Jain took the car towards ISKCON temple.
I followed the car,but he refused to stop,I fired rounds from a revolver but had to be very careful since he was driving at more than 80 km per hour and that too in a haphazard manner. He took a right turn from ISKCON temple chowk and headed towards Ambedkar chowk. We managed to overtake him near Ambedkar chowk and nabbed him. Jadhav,who received injuries on the head and the hand,was taken to a hospital for treatment. I had fired six rounds from the left window of my car to stop him , said Sengaonkar.
According to police inspector Suhas Nadgauda of Bundgarden police station,during investigations,Jain was found to be a resident of Nyati Highlands in Kondhwa. He is a Canadian national living alone in the city for the past 10 years. He is has an engineering degree from Germany.
Jain runs a consultancy and his clients are big names in the software industry. Earlier,he was with a telecom company,the police said.
Satish Sahebrao Kanvalkar (42) and Nilima Satish Kanvalkar (40) who were injured after Jain hit their motorcycle were admitted to a private hospital.
Nadgauda said Jain has been booked under Sections 332 (voluntary causing hurt to deter a public servant from duty),Section 338 and other sections of the IPC. During initial questioning,Jain said he had tried to flee as he was scared.
AWARD FOR COPS
The incident was immediately referred to Director General of Police ,Maharashtra,S S Virk. The DGP office has announced insignia awards for both of them, said Joint Commissioner of Police,Rajendra Sonawane. I was very scared as Jain was driving the vehicle in top gear even as I was hanging on to the bonnet. If Jain wouldn’t have been stopped near Ambedkar chowk,I would have fallen off the car, Jadhav said.
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