Two Chennai policemen killed as BMW rams into them, crime caught on CCTV

Two armed reserve police constables faced a brutal death on Tuesday after a BMW car rammed into them near a private school in Chennai's Mogappair. The incident took place early in the morning and the car driver was later arrested for negligent driving.

CCTV footage that emerged from the incident show that around 4.15 am,  the two policemen — B Ravindran (32) and V Karthik (34) — were travelling on a bike on the Ambattur real estate road. When Ravindran, who was riding the bike, took a right turn near the DAV girls school, the SUV ploughed down the bike. Ravindran and Karthik can be seen getting thrown off the bike. The car then came to a halt after hitting a median.

While Ravindran died of grievous injuries on the spot, Karthik was taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital where he died around 11 am. The two policemen were on their way to report for duty at the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) at Koyambedu. According to the Times of India, they helped streamline buses arriving from different districts.

Warning: Graphic visuals 

The accused, meanwhile, have been identified as college students but no drunken driving has been reported. The three men — Rohit Surya (21), Varun Sekar (20) and Amarnath (25) —  were returning from a birthday celebration. Amarnath was reportedly driving the car. As of now, reports state that the car driver was unable to control the car as he was speeding and didn't notice the police officer taking the right ahead of them.

Deputy Commissioner for Traffic MM Ashok Kumar tells TNM that the accused have been booked under Section 279 (Rash driving) and 304 (2) (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, if act is done with knowledge that it is likely to cause death) of the Indian Penal Code.

"Ravindran has left behind a family and two children, while Karthik had a wife and elderly parents. It is up to the families of the accused to take moral responsibility if they want to give any compensation to the victims' kin," he says.