New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has now denied bail to a man who has been arrested for allegedly trying to run over an on-duty Delhi Police constable who was stopping him for violating Covid-19 protocols. The court said the accused not only didn't stop when flagged down by authorities, but hit and ran him over in a manner to "endanger his life:
A single judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta, while dismissing the bail plea of one Ram Kumar, stated in her order that Kumar didn't stop his vehicle despite being directed by Constable Inderjeet who was on duty at the time, and further went on to accelerate his car and drive it in a zig-zag manner, thereby "endangering his life".
A case under IPC sections 120B (Criminal Conspiracy), 186 and 188, pertaining to obstructing a public servant on duty, among other
sections, has been lodged against Kumar in Vasant Kunj Police Station.
As per the status report filed by the Delhi Police in the matter, when Constable Inderjeet was on duty on a police picket in Mahipalpur, enforcing Covid-19 protocols among commuters, at around 4 PM a vehicle with Kumar and another co-passenger came towards the picket and they were not wearing masks.
When the Constable told them to stop and place the vehicle on the left side of the road, the car instead accelerated and hit the officer due to which he fell on its bonnet and the vehicle dragged him in a zig-zag manner. The Constable eventually fell off the car and the two accused fled the spot.
During the course of hearing, Advocate Aditya Vashishath, on behalf of the petitioner, argued that Kumar had during the day of incident gone to drop his cousin at the airport. However, the injuries sustained by the Constable as a result of the accident were simple in nature, he submitted.
Advocate Vashishath further argued that Kumar has been in custody for more than 15 days, i.e., since April 23, and that no further investigation is required to be carried out from him. "The petitioner will be available for any further investigation during the course of the trial," the counsel told the court.
Meanwhile, Additional Public Prosecutor Tarang Srivastava, submitted that the incident has been recorded on CCTV footage. The ownership of the vehicle in question has also been ascertained and has been traced to the accused.
The prosecution further stated that the police had stopped the vehicle only in order to enforce that the two persons sitting inside the car wear their mask but instead of stopping the vehicle, Kumar accelerated the car and hit the Constable and tried to run him over.