BENGALURU: A 31-year-old police constable died after he was knocked down by a speeding vehicle on NICE Road underpass near Deve Gowda junction on Saturday. The deceased Ravishankar S A, a resident of Kommaghatta, was attached to Byatarayanapura traffic police station. He used to travel from his village every day to work.
A senior police officer said the incident occurred in the afternoon when Ravishankar, along with Home Guard Venkoba Rao was monitoring traffic at the junction. A speeding vehicle heading towards Sumanahalli on NICE Road knocked him down. A passerby who noticed it, alerted Venkoba Rao, who rushed him to a hospital nearby where he was declared brought dead.
The identity of the driver is yet to be ascertained and there is no footage of the incident as no CCTV camera was installed in the area. However, efforts are on to nab the accused driver who did not stop the vehicle even after hitting Ravishankar. There is a sharp turn at the accident spot and thus no one noticed the vehicle which hit him as no other vehicle was behind it.
Venkoba Rao said, “Around 12.20 pm, we were monitoring traffic and it was our first shift. Ravishankar crossed the road to attend nature’s call at an isolated place nearby. Meanwhile, an unidentified four-wheeler knocked him down. Locals who noticed Ravishankar lying in a pool of blood started screaming after which I rushed to the spot. Then, I took help of the public and rushed him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. No one noticed the vehicle.”
Chikkanna, a relative of Ravishankar, told The New Indian Express, “Ravishankar’s parents were looking for a bride for him. He had joined the police department in 2012. He was also preparing for UPSC exams and had earned a good reputation in his six years of service. The staff of Byatarayanapura traffic police were shocked when they came to know about the incident”.
Ravishankar’s family has donated his eyes to an eye bank before the post-mortem and the body was taken to his village for the final rites. City police commissioner T Suneel Kumar, while expressing grief over the police constable’s death, told senior police officers to ensure safety of policemen on duty. He also instructed the officers to prevent such incidents and assured that the department is ready to provide help to Ravishankar’s family.
Previous mishaps
* December 26, 2017: A 30-year-old on-duty traffic police constable, Arun Kumar, was knocked by a speeding truck at Sunkadakatte. Arun, a resident of Laggere, was attached with Kamakshipalya traffic police station. The incident took place when Kumar was escorting a Tamil Nadu registered lorry to the police station as it was parked illegally. When he stopped his bike at an intersection to tell the lorry driver to take a right turn on Sunkadakatte Main Road towards the police station, he was hit from the rear by a truck filled with jelly stones.
* January 19, 2017: A 35-year-old traffic constable, Ramesh S H, was knocked down by a speeding bike while he was on duty near Cafe Coffee Day Circle in Yelahanka. The biker, Raju, a resident of R T Nagar and an employee of a private cargo company in Kempegowda airport, was arrested.