Drunk men kidnap traffic cop, take him on 'joyride'

An on-duty traffic policeman was abducted by three drunk men eastern Mumbai on Tuesday. The vehicle was tracked down nearly three kilometres away near the Eastern Express Highway in Ghatkopar by the Vikhroli Traffic Polic. The vehicle was confiscated and 2 of them taken into custody. The third man managed to slip away.

Mumbai: Three men in an inebriated state reportedly 'kidnapped' an on-duty traffic policeman and took him on a 'joyride' before being arrested, in Chembur of Eastern Mumbai on Tuesday.

According to sources, the incident occurred near the busy Chheda Nagar locality, when the accused, who were heavily drunk, halted their vehicle in the middle of the road resulting in a traffic snarl.

Informed of the development that was creating a ruckus, police constable Vikas Munde rushed to the spot.

He found a dark grey Honda City parked in the middle of the road blocking traffic movement during rush hour and knocked on the windows. One of the youngsters rolled down the windows and Munde saw he was drunk, the car reeked of liquor and empty beer bottles were lying around.

He ordered the driver to park the vehicle properly by the side of the road, but the other occupants stepped out and in a drunken rage, started arguing with him.

"They soon started abusing and beating me. They pounced on me and pushed me inside their car, and before I knew, they were speeding off," a shaken Munde told media persons.

His colleagues relayed messages for help through his walkie-talkie to the Police Control Room and a team of policemen from Vikhroli Traffic Police chased down the vehicle. They managed to intercept it nearly three kilometres away near the Eastern Express Highway in Ghatkopar, confiscated the vehicle and took two of them into custody, as the third managed to slip away.

Senior Police Inspector, Tilak Nagar Police Station S.P. Kamble said: "Viraj S. Shinde (21) and Gaurav M. Panjwani (22) have been arrested while police are on the lookout for the third accused - Raj Singh."

"The breath analyser tests revealed they were heavily drunk, and were even unfit to make a statement. We have booked them under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act," he added.

They will be produced later on Wednesday before a magisterial court.

All three are residents of Thane's Ghodbunder Road, from well-to-do families and were reportedly on a "joyride" in the car that was recently gifted to one of them by his father.