Driver shot in wrecking melee

At 6.30 pm, two police officers were on foot patrol when they observed a car illegally parked in the Diamond Village taxi stand on Coffee Street. When they could not locate the driver, police radioed for a wrecker to be sent to remove the car from the stand.

The driver on seeing the wrecker, emerged from a nearby bar and got into the car.

As the car reversed, one of its side mirrors struck the female officer on her elbow. It was reported that the man drove the car in the direction of the officer, who fearing she would be run over, drew her service pistol and fired, hitting him in the stomach. However, several eyewitnesses are disputing the police’s version of what happened.

A woman claimed the driver went to the bar to use the toilet and that a female passenger was in the car. “He was parked on the taxi stand and there was a female passenger seated inside. He went to use the toilet and the police came. They don’t want no PH cars on the taxi stand. All the other PH drivers left but he was still there and they called the wrecker,” said the woman who asked not to be identified.

She said that when the wrecker arrived there was an exchange of words between the policewoman and the driver. The woman said the officer was not hit by the car’s side mirror. “She shot him for nothing. All he was doing was looking to make an honest dollar.” Relatives of the wounded man who is 35 and from Ridgewood Gardens in Golconda said he works with an oil company and is a father of two. They added that on evenings he drove his car PH, to make ends meet. They are demanding a full-scale investigation.

Contacted for comment, head of Southern Division Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed said, “I am urging people to comply with the laws. It was a very trivial traffic law that wasn’t complied with that resulted in this issue. If persons abide by simple traffic laws we could avoid these problems.” ASP Sharaz Ali is investigating