A liquor shop at R-Block. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Five drunken men beat up a constable and tried to run over another with their SUV after the duo asked them not to drink in public and to park their vehicle at the allotted spot.

The incident, which came to light on Friday, occurred around 9.45pm on Thursday, at the busy R-Block area under the jurisdiction of Sachivalaya police station. The cops, with the help of a few residents, managed to nab one of the five men but the others fled.

One of the attacked constables, Satrughan Pandey, suffered injuries in one of his legs after the men dashed him with the car while fleeing. Police said the constable had done an X-Ray and the report stated hairline fracture.

“It is a serious case. The constable was fortunate, as the men could have run him over while attempting to escape. They tried to hit him with the car but he somehow saved himself. The five men were heavily drunk. One of them couldn’t get into the car while escaping and got arrested. He has been identified as Mantu Kumar, a resident of Adalatganj (in Patna). He is being interrogated and through him we are trying to trace out the others involved,” said S. Numaani, the deputy superintendent of police (Sachivalaya).

The two constables, Chotu Lal and Pandey, were deployed at R-Block on Thursday evening. “There are two liquor shops at R-Block. One of them falls under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station, while the other under the Sachivalaya. Around 9.45pm, Chotu Lal spotted an SUV parked haphazardly in front of a liquor shop. The vehicle was parked in such a way that it was blocking traffic. The accused were drinking inside the car. The constable approached the vehicle and asked the men to park the car in the right way and not to drink in public. To this, the men got out of the vehicle and started hurling invective at the constable. Chotu tried to talk to them asking them to behave, following which the men roughed them up,” the DSP said.

Pandey, who was at a distance, rushed to save Chotu.

“This angered them and they assaulted Pandey too. By then, the bystanders started gathering at the spot and the police station (only a few meters away) was informed. Sensing trouble, the attackers got into the vehicle and stepped on the accelerator. Pandey tried to stop them but they crushed his feet and fled. However, one of them fell while trying to board the car and he was nabbed,” the DSP added.

An officer said the men boasted about their connections.

“They were drinking in the open and were under heavy influence of liquor. They were not able to stand properly. Once the trouble started, they boasted about their connections. We are also checking CCTV footage to trace the path the vehicle drove while fleeing,” the officer said.