According to Mohammad Saifullah, a second PU commerce student and resident of Pillanna Garden was returning home from Baldwin’s College, and removed his helmet to speak over his cellphone. Finding Saifullah without helmet, constable Ramesh (PC No 10731) attached to the Cubbon Park traffic police station who was regulating traffic at the junction, sprinted towards him.
"Seeing the constable, I got scared and was about to stop the two-wheeler when Ramesh suddenly intercepted andpunched me brutally on the nose. I bled profusely and collapsed immediately. The blow was so severe that I lost control over the vehicle and it smashed into a nearby barricade of the Metro Rail. I have suffered swelling in the eyes and bruises on hands and legs," Saifullah told Deccan Herald.
He then called his father Mohammad Khaleelullah, an auto consultant, who rushed to the spot from Shivajinagar. Later, they went to the Cubbon Park police station and lodged a complaint against the constable. Saifullah was admitted to the Bowring Hospital and later shifted to the Victoria Hospital.
Reiterating that he had removed the helmet only to use his cellphone, Saifullah accused the constable of "high-handedness". "Ramesh thought I wore the helmet only after noticing him," he said. Attempts to contact Ramesh failed as his cellphone was switched off.
Refuting the assault, A Nagappa, ACP (Traffic Central), claimed that Saifullah was injured after hitting a nearby barricade of the Metro Rail. “He was speeding, and had not put on the helmet. He was also speaking over cellphone when the constable tried to stop him.
In his attempt to flee, he lost control over the vehicle and rammed the barricade,” Nagappa told Deccan Herald. He however said Ramesh would be suspended if found guilty.