Nigerians, muggers rough up policemen in Bangalore

The East Division police had a harrowing time late Sunday night as foreign students and muggers attacked them in separate incidents.

In the first incident, a police constable working with the Banasawadi Police Station was attacked by a Nigerian student when policemen intervened in a quarrel between a group of Nigerian students on Kammanahalli Main Road on late night of Sunday.

Raghu and Dondaiah Hiremah were on night patrolling on a Cheetah vehicle when they received information that a group of foreign students were creating public nuisance near a bar under the influence of alcohol. They rushed to the scene around 11.45 pm and tried to convince them not to quarrel. But, the students picked up a quarrel with the police too and one of them removed his belt and attacked Raghu. The constable suffered a head injury. Passers-by including autorickshaw drivers, came to the rescue of the police.

TG Krishnabhat, deputy commissioner of police (east), said the police have taken the case seriously. “We will arrest the accused and will inform the authority of their country for further action,” he said.

In the other incident, six muggers allegedly attacked policemen when they tried to avoid a robbery at Mahadevapura Ring Road. Head constable Kumar was injured seriously as muggers attacked him with a machete. His subordinate, constable Prabhakar, was also injured in the incident. Both are working with Mahadevapura police.

Krishnabhat said the incident happened about 1.30 am when the policemen were on night patrolling near Louri School on Ring Road. Two muggers on a motorcycle stopped a car about 12.30 am. They robbed the car driver.

When the policemen tried to intervene, the accused’s four aides came on two motorcycles and attacked Kumar with machetes, injuring his left hand. Prabhakar too was attacked, but he managed to escape. Krishnabhat said Kumar had been recently operated for a kidney ailment, which was why he was not carrying a weapon.

The miscreants left one of their motorcycles on the spot, based on which the police are trying to collect information about them.