According to police inspector (crime) A B Deshpande, at around 5.20 am when constable Sanjay Jagannath Madeshwar was patrolling at Opera House, he saw three persons behaving suspiciously. On seeing Madeshwar, one person ran away immediately. When Madeshwar tried to overpower them, the other two tried to escape on a motorcycle, which skidded when Madeshwar hit out at it with his lathi. However, one of the men slashed Madeshwar's left arm with a razor before they managed to escape. The constable was taken to Nair Hospital and discharged after treatment, said Deshpande.

The police have recovered the motorcycle, which turned out to be stolen, and a tool kit which was used for housebreaking. Deshpande said that a few persons were present when the incident took place, and should have helped the constable, but nobody did so.

Theadditional commissioner of police (South) has announced a bravery award of Rs 3,000 for Madeshwar.