Cop attempts to stop rashly driven truck, gets run over

Coimbatore

The deceased T Prabhu of Gudimangalam in Tirupur district was an armed reserve cop and was on duty at Thittuparai police check post along with head constable Loganathan attached to Kangeyam police station.

On receiving information from the control room to stop a rashly driven truck coming through the way from Erode district, the two cops tried to block the way by placing barricades. But, the speeding truck dashed away ramming down the barricade. Immediately, the two cops chased the truck in separate two-wheelers.

While constable Loganathan stopped after reaching a short distance, Prabhu chased on and managed to overtake the truck and he signaled the driver to stop the truck. But, the driver ran over him and drove away without halting. The cop who was not wearing a helmet succumbed to injuries on the spot. Then, the truck driver took a turn to proceed towards Erode district.

Finally, the truck was forced to a halt by police at Odanilai near Arachalur in Erode district. The truck driver B Baskaran, 40, from Ramanathapuram district was taken into custody and was taken to government hospital to test if he was drunk.

Police said that Baskaran had earlier rammed into a check post in Erode and then hit a sports utility vehicle (SUV) resulting in a quarrel with its driver, before he sped away from the spot. A case has been registered against driver Baskaran under IPC section 279 for rash driving and 304 (A) for causing death by negligence. Further investigations are on in the case.