The 45-year-old auto rickshaw driver spotted a nakabandi near the station and fled the scene; he allegedly even injured a police constable during the manic ride
(From left) Constables Dhanraj Ahir and Manesh Bachhav, Assistant Inspector Pravin Pande, and constable Siddharth More formed the team that nabbed the rash driver
A 35-year-old woman held onto dear life for over 20 minutes as an autorickshaw driver sped away manically on spotting traffic police constables in Kharghar last night.
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Alert Kharghar traffic police constables nabbed the driver after a 7-km chase. The police said a 35-year-old woman boarded the autorickshaw of Kailash Patil (45), a resident of Murbi Gaon in Kharghar, around 9 pm at Kharghar railway station to get to Sector 12. Around 100 m away, the traffic police were carrying out a drive against errant autorickshaw drivers. On spotting them, Patil allegedly turned his vehicle and fled, with the terrified commuter inside.
Injures cop
The police tried to pull him over, but he sped away. Three traffic police constables - Siddharth More, Manesh Bachhav and Dhanraj Ahir - saw this and gave a chase.
Patil drove, allegedly rashly, through Sectors 12 and 13. "We chased him for around 7 km. At Sector 12, I tried to make him stop by standing in the way of the vehicle, but he brushed against my left hand and sped away again,” said Ahir, who sustained an injury on the hand.
Finally, near Murbi Gaon in Sector 19, Patil put an end to his frenzied run and fled after abandoning his vehicle on an isolated road. "We caught hold of him, rescued the woman and took both to the police station.
DUI suspected
Pravin Pande, assistant inspector, Kharghar traffic police, said the constables suspected something was amiss when they spotted Patil trying to get away in a mad rush with a woman inside his autorickshaw. “During the chase, we also got a call from the control room, which had been alerted by the woman’s husband."
A case has been registered under sections 363 (kidnap), 279 (rash driving) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Dilip Kale, senior inspector, Kharghar police station, said Patil has been sent for a medical examination since it’s suspected that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.
The commissioner of Police Navi Mumbai, Hemant Nagrale appreciated the alertness of the traffic policemen and subsequent act of chasing the auto driver and finally nabbing the accused.
He said, "we will felicitate the policemen during our crime conference." He also appealed to people especially women to download the free mobile application 'prathisad' which will help the police control room to locate the victim through GPS and provide distress assistance"
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