The thief has been identified as Manjesh and has 75 police cases against him
In what seemed like a scene straight out of a Bollywood thriller, a Bengaluru policeman risked his life by diving before a two-wheeler to catch a thief. The Tuesday incident was captured on CCTV.
Constable Dodda Lingayya, dressed in civil clothes, approached a two-wheeler on a busy road and jumped before it, showed a video. Manjesh, who has 75 police cases pending against him, stopped the bike. Seconds later, he went full throttle and dragged the cop for around 20 metres as he held on to his collar.
The collar slipped off the cop's grip after a while, but he did not give up. Refusing to let him go, he was seen clinging on to the thief's leg as he kept riding. This made Manjesh lose control.
Two traffic cops standing nearby were soon alerted of the incident and rushed to his help. The thief overpowered one of them, but was tackled down by another.
By then, several commuters had gathered. They caught him and thrashed him, bringing the traffic to a standstill.
The police later said Manjesh had fled to Bengaluru from Tumakuru district and was on the police's radar for some time.
He has been arrested. The police have recovered Rs 10,000 cash and 130 grams gold jewellery from his possession.