BANGALORE: Tension prevailed in Gandhinagar, the city's commercial hub, on Friday as hundreds of people staged a protest demanding action against a police constable who allegedly stole a purse containing Rs. 2,600 in cash.

Subsequently, the Upparpet police arrested the accused Govindaraju, a City Armed Reserve (CAR) constable who works as driver.

The police recovered from him the purse and the cash.

Because of the protest, traffic was disrupted in the area for some time.

Senior police officials rushed to the spot with additional forces and dispersed the crowd.

According to the police, around 12.30 p.m. Sidde Gowda, a temporary lineman with BESCOM in Channapatna in Bangalore Rural district, and his wife Lalitha came to a electronics appliances showroom on Kalidasa Road in Gandhinagar.

After purchasing a DVD player, they were about to leave the showroom.

As their two-year-old daughter Sanjana wanted to answer nature's call, Lalitha took her out.

While washing the baby, she kept her purse on the pavement.

Later, she came into the showroom to collect the DVD player and found that she had misplaced the purse containing Rs. 2,600. When Lalitha and Sidde Gowda came out and started searching for the purse, the watchman of the showroom told them that a policeman, who was seated in a police jeep parked in front of the showroom, had picked the purse.

When the couple enquired with the jeep driver, who was in police uniform, he gave them vague answers.

Passers-by came to the help of the couple and they found the empty purse in the jeep. As the word spread, hundreds of people gathered near the showroom, demanding action against the constable.

When some policemen, who arrived at the spot, hesitated to take action against Govindaraju, the public raised slogans against the police. Fearing that the angry public may attack Govindaraju, the police whisked him away in an autorickshaw, eye-witnesses told The Hindu.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) K.V. Sharthchandra said that on a complaint by Lalitha, the Upparpet police have registered a theft case against Govindaraju and recovered from him the cash and the purse. Govindaraju, who drives the jeep of the City Market traffic inspector, has been remanded in judicial custody.

A shocked Sidde Gowda, who hails from Krishnapur village in Channapatna taluk, said he had brought Rs. 8,000 and purchased the DVD player paying Rs. 5,400. The rest of the amount was kept in the purse. He said now he had no money to return to his village.

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