Man walks free in hit-&-run case filed by cop

A hit-and-run case registered on a complaint filed by a UT traffic police cop five years ago has turned out to be false. Head Constable Shashi Bhushan had alleged that a Punjab native dragged him on the bonnet of his car for 1 km.

The court acquitted Ajay Kumar of Ludhiana, while observing that the contradictions and discrepancies in this case create doubts over the prosecution story. It is settled law that the benefit of the doubt always goes in favour of the accused, the court added.

The cop had alleged that he noticed a car driver using phone while driving at the Sector 44/45 chowk. When he signalled the driver to stop, he slowed down the vehicle. The cop asked Ajay to show his licence, but he tried to speed away. The cop fell on the bonnet and was dragged to about 1 km.

During the trial, the Public Prosecutor said the prosecution has proved the case against the accused. However, Ashish Kumar Gupta, counsel for the accused, said his client was falsely implicated.

The court said the complainant failed to identify the accused present in the court and no CCTV footage was taken into possession by the investigating officer.

Even the medical examination records of injuries sustained by the complainant were not present in the court. All these contradictions and discrepancies in this case create doubts over the prosecution story, the court observed.

Chandigarh