Patiala: A 29-year-old businessman was arrested after he assaulted a traffic police constable, who had stopped him when he was driving his BMW sedan on the wrong side of the road at Khanda Chowk in Patiala on Tuesday evening. The policeman too returned a few blows.

Patiala: A 29-year-old businessman was arrested after he assaulted a traffic police constable, who had stopped him when he was driving his BMW sedan on the wrong side of the road at Khanda Chowk in Patiala on Tuesday evening. The policeman too returned a few blows.

Police booked the businessman, Himanshu Mittal, under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public function) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), both non-bailable offences.

It started when constable Om Prakash intercepted the car (PB-11CB-7430) on wrong side near Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib. The driver, Mittal, started arguing with the constable when asked to show his driving licence and documents of the vehicle. It escalated when he got out and slapped the policeman.

Other police personnel and some shopkeepers overpowered Mittal, who continued to abuse the constable and tried to attack him again.

Nirmal Singh, assistant sub-inspector, one of the witnesses, said his colleague had “only asked the BMW driver to follow the rules and show the documents” to fine him for the violation. Mittal neither had his licence nor the registration documents of the vehicle, said superintendent of police (SP) Kesar Singh.