Man arrested for taking Lucknow police constable hostage in SUV

Lucknow: A Lucknow police constable was allegedly taken hostage in an SUV and driven for nearly 10 km after he had stopped the vehicle for inspection on charges of rule violations, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused has been arrested and the vehicle involved in the episode impounded, the officials said.

According to police, the incident took place on November 15 at Shahid Path in the Sarojini Nagar police station area.

A Scorpio car driver, identified as Krishna Kumar Goswami, fled after allegedly refusing to stop the vehicle and causing obstruction to traffic at Shahid Path Tiraha in the city.

The incident occurred around 12.45 pm when the driver, who was operating the black Scorpio car without a number plate, stopped to pick up passengers, prompting traffic police personnel to intervene, according to a complaint lodged by constable Ranjit Kumar Yadav.

The driver, who initially refused to comply with the police instructions, sped away with two passengers, with the constable hanging on to the vehicle. The police managed to stop the car near Sewai police post with the help of a Traffic Police personnel.

Goswami, who claimed to be a resident of Amausi Bazar in the Sarojini Nagar area, escaped from the scene when the police were questioning the passengers.

The police registered a case against Goswami for obstructing government work and other relevant charges, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Krishna Nagar) Rajneesh Verma said.

"The accused has been arrested and sent to judicial custody. The SUV has also been impounded," Verma told PTI on Tuesday.