Traffic cop chases speeding car, dies after being knocked down during pursuit
Meganathan (35), a constable attached to the Madipakkam traffic police station, was part of the team that was conducting routine vehicle checks near a private hospital on the Radial Road stretch.
The car driven by Sairam of Madipakkam that was involved in the accident that killed traffic constable Meganathan (R)
CHENNAI: A traffic police constable, who went on hot pursuit of a speeding car that sped on without stopping, died after the swerving car hit his two-wheeler and threw him off the vehicle. Hours after the incident on Pallikaranai–Thoraipakkam Radial Road on Monday night, the car driver, who fled without stopping, called the city police control room and admitted to the accident, following which the police traced the call and arrested the man.
Meganathan (35), a constable attached to the Madipakkam traffic police station, was part of the team that was conducting routine vehicle checks near a private hospital on the Radial Road stretch. Around midnight, a car approached at high speed from the Pallavaram side towards Madipakkam. Meganathan signalled the driver to stop, but the vehicle sped past without slowing.
The policeman chased the car on his two-wheeler, caught up with it, and tapped on the door, instructing the driver to halt. The car swerved suddenly and hit his motorcycle, which threw him onto the road. Despite the accident, the driver did not stop the vehicle.
Constables Pandiya Rajan and Sivasankar, who witnessed the incident, alerted the control room and rushed Meganathan to a nearby private hospital, where he was declared dead.
Even as the police were hunting for the driver, a man called the control room in the early hours of Tuesday and admitted that his car had struck a traffic policeman on Radial Road. The officials traced the call and detained the caller, identified as Sairam (32) from Rajasthan, who runs a jewellery and pawn business in Chennai and resides in Madipakkam.
Initial inquiry indicated that Sairam was returning home with his family after attending a function. Police suspect he may have been drunk and feared being stopped for a breathalyser test. The police arrested Sairam and are also probing whether it was an accident or whether he intentionally hit the officer while trying to escape.
Despite suspecting him to be drunk at the time of the incident, the police have not yet added the relevant charges yet, as they are awaiting the medical report. Police sources also said he was wearing the sacred ‘mala’ ahead of a planned pilgrimage to Sabarimala, which would make it unlikely that he was drunk.
