Kochi drug chase turns violent: Suspect rams car into cops outside police station, two injured

Kochi: A police chase over suspected drug trafficking took a violent turn outside Elamakkara Police Station in Kochi on Friday morning when the accused allegedly threw his car into reverse and rammed into pursuing officers. The collision knocked two policemen off their motorcycles and left two two-wheelers crushed beneath the car, in a close call that could have ended far more seriously.

The accused was identified as Preethish P Prakash (39), a native of Moothakunnam near North Paravur. Police said he works as a driver with a private courier firm and had hired the rental car a few days before the incident, allegedly to facilitate the delivery of contraband.

The incident occurred between 10.20 am and 10.25 am on the Thannikkal-Keerthi Nagar Road, barely 100 m from the station gates. The injured officers, Civil Police Officers (CPOs) Madhusoodanan and Vijayaraj, are members of the Kochi City District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF). They sustained fractures, sprains and lacerations but are reported to be out of danger.

According to police sources, the DANSAF-1 team of Kochi City police had been keeping Preethish under close surveillance for several days based on information about his alleged involvement in drug trafficking. On Friday morning, an anonymous tip indicated that he had entered the city limits and was near Ernakulam South Railway Station.

A team of around eight officers on two-wheelers began following the blue Maruti Swift Dzire driven by the accused. The driver allegedly realised that he was being tailed and sped off in an attempt to shake off the pursuing officers.

As the chase moved towards Edappally South, the DANSAF team alerted the Elamakkara Police Station. Personnel at the station attempted to intercept the car by positioning a vehicle across the road outside the premises.

However, instead of surrendering, the accused stopped the car and allegedly reversed at high speed into the pursuing officers and their two-wheelers.

‘The car could have gone over their heads’
Recounting the moments, a DANSAF official told Onmanorama that the officers had little time to react when Preethish reversed the car into them with considerable force. The impact threw the officers off their motorcycles, while two two-wheelers, one belonging to the officers and another parked nearby, were crushed beneath the reversing sedan.

“After seeing the police intercepting him, he panicked and rammed into us with immense force. The car's rear wheels ended up stuck on top of two two-wheelers, which halted it from moving backwards further. Otherwise, it would have run straight over the officers’ bodies,” the officer said.

Although shaken and injured, the officers managed to move clear of the vehicle. The driver allegedly refused to get out despite repeated demands from the police.

Officers eventually smashed a window of the locked car, subdued him after a scuffle and took him into the police station. The injured officers underwent treatment and, based on their complaint, Elamakkara police registered a case under Sections 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging duty) and 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging duty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A search of the vehicle following the arrest led to the seizure of approximately 33 g of a substance suspected to be MDMA. The substance was allegedly concealed in a packet inside the car’s front dashboard. The police said relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act would also be invoked following interrogation and completion of the seizure formalities.

The police said further investigation would focus on the alleged drug deliveries and whether others were involved in the suspected trafficking network.