Constable Chaugule asked the duo why they had been drinking and driving. Ashvinkumar Singh dared the constable to do something about it and and then slapped him. Illustrations/Amit Bandre

In a show of brazenness that has shaken up the police department, one of two MBA students caught for drink driving slapped a policeman while the other bit off a part of the little finger of a constable who came to his colleague's rescue.Since the cops couldn't find the bitten-off portion of the little finger for nearly three hours, it could not be reattached and the constable will have to live without one-third of his finger for life.Around 1 am on Sunday, a team of five constables from the Borivli police had set up a roadblock (nakabandi) on the Rajendra Nagar Bridge (rail over bridge) in Sumer Nagar. "At 2.50 am, we spotted two men on an Activa, which was being ridden in a rash and negligent manner. The men were also making a lot of noise. When we stopped them at the nakabandi, we noticed that both of them were reeking of alcohol," said Suresh Chaugule, one of the constables present for the nakabandi.The men identified themselves as Ashvinkumar Ramnath Singh (29) and Abhishekh Jitendra Pandey (27). They had come to Mumbai from Delhi for their MBA and were staying in Charkop.The policemen asked Pandey, who was riding the scooter, for a driving licence and papers, but they did not have anything. Pandey was not even wearing a helmet. The cops then decided to take the students to the police station, charge them for drink driving, and let them go in the morning. "When we escorted them to the police van, where they were supposed to wait, they were not even able to stand properly. I asked them why they were riding the scooter when they were drunk and one of them said, 'Daru piya to tu kar kya lega' (Yes, we have consumed alcohol. What can you do about it)," said Chaugule.Singh than slapped Chaugule hard, prompting the other four constables to rush to the van to save him. Constable Deepak Gite was standing closest to Pandey and the latter immediately caught hold of Gite's left hand and bit his little finger. No one could understand what was happening and a huge amount of blood began flowing from Gite's hand.Gite was rushed to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli, while Singh and Pandey were taken to the Borivli police station. Doctors at the hospital asked the cops to take Gite to another hospital since one-third of his finger was missing. When the constable was taken to the Lifeline Hospital in Malad, the doctors asked the cops for the portion that had been bitten off."We searched the whole area where he had been bitten and even looked inside the police van. We finally found the missing portion of the finger in a corner of the van, under the seat, around 6 am," said a policeman from the team. The doctors, however, said that it was too late to attach the missing portion, and Gite was discharged from the hospital last evening.Police said that Pandey and Singh had been drinking heavily. They had run out of alcohol and were going to Borivli (East) to buy some more.Senior Police Inspector Narayan Khaire, from Borivli police station, said, "We have arrested Singh and Pandey, who are from Delhi and came to Mumbai to pursue their MBA degrees. They reside in Charkop. They were produced in the holiday court and remanded in police custody."

The duo was charged under Sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC, and relevant sections of the Bombay Police Act.