The Hindu : Two held for intruding into PM's convoy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 30, 2003

National

National

Two held for intruding into PM's convoy

By Our Staff Reporter

The two persons, arrested for driving their car through the convoy of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Tuesday night at the Delhi Cantonment police station on Wednesday. — PTI

NEW DELHI JAN. 29. Two persons who breached the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's security cordon and intruded into his cavalcade in their car here late on Tuesday night before escaping into neighbouring Gurgaon have been arrested by the South-West Delhi police.

The incident has forced the security unit of the Delhi police and the Special Protection Group (SPG) to comprehensively review the arrangements.

According to the police, the white Maruti Esteem driven by Ashok, a resident of Gurgaon, breached the traffic and local police cordons before speeding past the tail car of the Prime Minister's cavalcade on Parade Road in South-West Delhi.

The car was apparently waiting beyond Thimayya Marg-Parade Road T-point as the traffic had been stopped to allow the Prime Minister's cavalcade to pass. The Prime Minister had alighted at the Palam airport and was on his way to his residence.

At 10-46 p.m., the first message about the errant car was flashed to the Control Room. The Special Commissioner of Police (Security and Operations), S.K. Kain, told presspersons on Wednesday that the car swerved into the wrong carriageway on Thimayya Marg at great speed and took a turn on Parade Road on which the Prime Minister's cavalcade had just entered.

The traffic police and Police Control Room personnel deployed at the T-point and at close distances thereafter tried to flag down the vehicle, but it did not stop. Within seconds, the vehicle sped past the tail car of the cavalcade and started moving close to what is called the "box.'' The tail car flashed messages about the car which had by then come close to the ambulance.

Finally, the occupants of the SPG escort car No. 2 decided to open fire. Seven rounds were fired and the windscreen of the car was smashed. The vehicle, however, could not be stopped and it swerved on to the Gurgaon Road and sped away. An SPG vehicle chased the car for about 100 yards but in vain.

The security officials had, however, managed to note down the registration number of the car.

Within minutes, it was found that the car was registered in Gurgaon. Immediately, a team of South-West Delhi police was despatched there.

With the help of the local police, the registration number was traced to Umesh Kumar, a resident of Laxmi Garden in Sector-15, Gurgaon.

It came to light that the car was taken by his uncle, Dhare Singh, who runs a travel agency, and was being driven by Ashok. Dhare Singh and Ashok were traced to their office at Gulia Sadan in Sector-15, Gurgaon. The police brought them here along with the car this morning.

A case under Sections 188, 186, 353, 336 and 279 of the Indian Penal Code — pertaining to obstructing a public servant in discharge of his duty, rash driving and endangering public safety — has been registered at the Delhi Cantonment police station.

The two were produced in court and were remanded to a day's police custody. However, all sections under which the two have been charged are bailable.

The police said both Dhare Singh and Ashok were in an inebriated state and had come to Naraina to "have a good time.'' At the time of the incident, a woman was also present in the car.

They were on Thimayya Marg and wanted to reach Gurgaon. Not wanting to wait for the traffic to clear, Ashok decided to swerve on the wrong carriageway and then turn on Parade Road leading to the incident. Following the incident, a meeting of the top brass of the security unit of the Delhi police, SPG and other units like Traffic and Police Control Room was held on Wednesday.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National