Bengaluru drug peddler with injured eye walks into police station to seek protection from wife, police arrest him

The incident has drawn attention for its unusual circumstances, where a habitual offender sought police protection not from rivals or criminal threats, but from his wife, only to be arrested.

In a role reversal that left even police officers momentarily stunned, a person with a criminal record walked into a police station in Bengaluru on Tuesday, not to answer summons or face arrest, but to seek protection from his wife. The individual, identified as Syed Asghar, is a known criminal with multiple criminal cases registered against him in the city, including those related to drug peddling, the police said.

Given the existence of an active warrant against him, the police arrested Asghar and produced him before a court. He has since been remanded in judicial custody.

Asghar alleged that he was assaulted by his first wife following a domestic dispute, sustaining injuries to his left eye. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in connection with the incident in Jaga Jeevanram Nagar (JJ Nagar) police station. However, no immediate arrests were made, keeping in mind that the couple has a minor child.

However, the police said the matter extends beyond a routine domestic disagreement. Asghar reportedly has a second wife, and investigators are examining claims that he may be attempting to implicate his first wife as part of a larger personal dispute, said an officer. Authorities are also probing allegations that the second wife may be assisting him in drug peddling.

Further inquiry revealed that Asghar already had an active warrant against him under an attempt to murder case (Section 307 of the IPC). The police stated that he had earlier fled to Odisha, where another case was registered against him. After being released around three months ago, he returned to Bengaluru and began living with his second wife, a development that reportedly triggered tensions with his first wife, the police said

While investigations continue, the incident has drawn attention for its unusual circumstances, where a habitual offender sought police protection not from rivals or criminal threats, but to aid a domestic conflict. “This is probably the first time we’ve seen him on this side of the complaint register,” the police officer said.