Bengaluru: A 23-year-old African national student was arrested after his bike rammed into a pedestrian and injured him in K.R. Puram on Saturday night. The bike rider, identified as Ahmed, hails from Republic of Chad and is a second year student pursuing BCS at the Teacher’s Academy in Kalyan Nagar, the police said. The crowd at the spot suspected the student was under influence of alcohol and did not let him get away.
According the police, the incident happened around 1.15 am at the lower ramp of the hanging bridge in KR Puram. The victim, Venugopal, 27, a lorry driver by profession, was waiting at a bus stop near Tin factory. He wanted to go to Srinivasapura where he resided.
Ahmed, who was reportedly in an inebriated state, was heading towards his home in HBR Layout on his bike (registration number KA-03-JA-5182) which brushed Venugopal leaving him with minor injuries, the police said.
The passersby and crowd gathered at the spot and confronted the African student as he was in an inebriated state. They also alleged that the foreign students were racing on their bikes.
Ahmed immediately called his Nigerian friends who rushed to the spot on their two bikes. Heated arguments ensued between the locals and the foreigners and the Hoysala patrol team attached to Mahadevapura police station who reached the spot in minutes defused the situation.
As Ahmed refused to undergo breathalyzer test, he was initially taken to Ramamurthy Nagar police station and later taken to Bowring Hospital for medical examination. His blood and urine samples were collected for the blood alcohol level and will be sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), said an investigating officer.
The K.R. Puram traffic police registered a case of rash and negligent driving against Ahmed and three bikes were seized. The cops are also in the process of verifying his passport and other travel documents, a senior police officer said.
