Mumbai: Drunk constable rams bike into pregnant woman

Policemen are supposed to protect citizens, to be upholders of the truth and justice, but in a travesty of all those ideals, a drunk 35-year-old police constable knocked an eight-month pregnant woman down with his bike in Thane (East) yesterday afternoon.

The victim, identified as Chini Ravindra Vataf (30), was rushed to hospital, where doctors said she had severe injuries to her head and hand, but declared both her and the child safe otherwise. She is currently being treated at a private hospital in Thane (East).

According to the Vartak Nagar police, with whom a case has been registered, the accused, Rajendra Ahire was riding a bike, going home after drinking with his friends. Meanwhile, the victim was returning her home after dropping her six-year-old son at school.

Around 1 pm, Ahire hit her with the bike, and she fell down. Local residents caught him as he was trying to flee, and handed him to the cops. The victim's relatives said the accused was not in uniform when the incident occurred.

Officials said they saw the police icon on his bike, and suspected that he was policeman, but Ahire refused to admit it during interrogation. However, they found an identification card among his belongings, and discovered that he was a constable attached with the Shivaji Park police station.

Cop speak
Senior Inspector N Bangale said, "The medical report confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol. During interrogation, he did not cooperate or reveal he is a cop, but later we found he is attached with Shivaji Park police station as a constable. We arrested him for drink driving and hitting the woman and injuring her. We will produce the accused in court on Thursday."