Police said 2 of the members were arrested and we found stolen tyres inside truck. (Representational)
A gang of thieves travelling in a truck allegedly tried to kill policemen by repeatedly attempting to ram into their patrolling van during a chase on a highway on the outskirts of Vadodara city of Gujarat, police said on Thursday.
Though the PCR (police control room) van met with an accident during the chase on Wednesday, injuring its driver, another vehicle of the Vadodara city police finally managed to stop the truck and nab two of the five thieves, who were transporting stolen tyres in the truck, said inspector of Nandesari police station S A Karmur.
The incident took place on a day when a police constable, who was on vehicle checking duty, was moved down by a truck in Anand district of the state.
The accident left PCR van driver Ramdas Meda injured on his face and chest as the police vehicle rammed into a divider during the chase, said Mr Karmur.
The arrested persons were identified as truck driver Yunus Alam and his accomplice Mohsin Mitha, both residents of Godhra town of Panchmahal district.
Three others, who were in the truck during the chase, managed to flee, said the inspector, adding an FIR under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 332 (causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the IPC has been lodged against the culprits.
"Upon getting a wireless message from the control room about a suspicious truck, PCR driver Meda and a constable named Jayesh kept a watch on the highway and spotted it around 6 am on Wednesday. Though the constable waved his hand as a gesture to stop, the truck driver sped away towards Anand," said Mr Karmur.
The police van started tailing the truck, he said.
"Upon learning that they were being chased by the police, the truck driver deliberately steered the truck sideways to hit the PCR van whenever our driver tried to overtake and block its way," said Mr Karmur.
After some distance, the truck driver took a U-turn before Anand and started driving towards Vadodara city, said the police officer.
When Meda again tried to overtake, the truck driver, as guided by another person who was keeping a watch on the PCR van, once again steered the truck close to the police vehicle in order to hit it, said Mr Karmur.
"The truck came dangerously close to the van, forcing the driver to apply brakes. The police vehicle hit the divider, injuring its driver. Later, the Vadodara city police sent another van, which managed to stop the truck. Two of the gang members were arrested and we found stolen tyres inside the truck," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)