PUNE: Four policemen were injured when a speeding car hit their van as they were getting down from the vehicle near the Bavdhan bridge on Katraj-Dehu Road bypass to attend to two men lying unconscious in the wee hours of Wednesday.The policemen had reached the spot on a patrol round and found the two men lying unconscious on the road. They parked the van nearby and were about to get down to help them when the car came from the rear and hit their official vehicle.Assistant inspector (Hinjewadi police) Anand Pagare and three police constables — Santosh Shinde, Maruti Pashale, and Sharad Patil — were on the patrol duty between Chandani Chowk and Hinjewadi Phata on the bypass in thee van.They were asked to keep a vigil on the agitators and ensure that milk vans or tankers were not damaged. Many milk tankers headed for Mumbai from cities such as Pune, Kolhapur and Satara take the bypass.As the police team was proceeding towards Hinjewadi Phata, its members spotted a few people on the road and two men lying. Pagare said an unidentified vehicle hit the duo, who were on a scooter, and fled. Both of them were unconscious.After spotting the accident victims, the police team halted to take further action. “We wanted to take the accident victims to hospital. I had ordered our van driver to halt near the accident spot,” Pagare said.Pagare and three constables alighted from their vehicle. Before they could reach the accident victims, the speeding car rammed their vehicle. All the policemen were standing close to the vehicle. Under the impact of the collision, they lost balance and fell on the road. The man driving the car sped away.Pagare and Shinde sustained neck and back injuries, while Pashale and Patil were injured on their legs. Some passers-by took the injured policemen to a private hospital located nearby.Doctors in the hospital discharged them late in the evening. The Hinjewadi police have registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the unidentified car driver.Later on Wednesday, the police found out that the car driver is a resident of Bhusari Colony in Kothrud.The 34km Katraj-Dehu Road bypass, with 172 black spots or accident-prone areas, has become a killer stretch.The Pune police have been writing to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), responsible for maintenance of the bypass, to instal sign booards and speed breakers and seal the punctured medians to prevent accidents.

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