Bengaluru: Assault traffic policemen on duty, face jail

BENGALURU: Think twice before you take on cops on duty as you may land up in jail. Bullying traffic policemen henceforth will be a serious offence and assaulters will be jailed.

As traffic policemen are taking steps to curtail various violations, including reckless driving, driving without licence, drunken driving and parking on road by BMTC bus drivers, there has been a sudden rise in cases of assault against men in khaki on duty.

The Bengaluru traffic police have booked 74 such cases in 2015. Taking a serious note of the assault cases, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) M.A. Saleem warned city motorists to cooperate with the police or face serious consequences.

Mr Saleem told Deccan Chronicle, “There has been a significant increase in the number of assault cases against policemen. If anyone tries to obstruct policemen from carrying out their duties, the motorists will face stringent punishment and may even attract five-year imprisonment.”

Last Saturday, a 25-year-old woman was put in the lock-up after she abused traffic police officers in foul language in Wilson Garden traffic police limits. Dimple alias Dimpy, a resident of Koramangala and working in a woman’s bar, was released on bail only on Monday.

Dimpy, who was riding a two-wheeler, tried to avoid policemen, who were conducting a drunk driving check on Double Road. She tried to take a turn but fell from her bike. The policemen approached her and asked her to take the alcometer test, but she refused.

She also started abusing woman police inspector Meenakshi and other policemen who tried to impound her bike. She threatened the policemen with dire consequences. As a constable was videographing the incident, she attacked him too and asked him to stop filming her. In another incident on December 9, a 50-year-old head constable of Kumaraswamy Layout traffic police station, was assaulted and abused by a drunk BBMP Contractor.

Drunk driving cases

• Month    2014     2015
• Jan.          2568        4340
• Feb.          3876       2971
• March       6559       4424
• April          4731       2167
• May           4285       3928
• June          4069        5263
• July           4572       5336
• August      4603      3831
• Sep.            4426      5608
• Oct.           3158       8485
• Nov.           5895      6762
• Dec.           6396       ------  
• Total        55138     53115

Previous incidents

• Dec. 3: Arekesh, an autorickshaw driver, was arrested by Byatarayanapura police for abusing and assaulting a traffic policeman Ravi Shankar on duty  
• Nov. 22: Two drunk men, Shiv Kumar and Yogesh, were arrested by Sampangiram Nagar police for misbehaving with traffic cops on duty   
• Nov. 4: Iraqi national Mustafa Talib was arrested by Commercial Street police for attacking a cop on duty  
• Oct. 29: A sub-inspector and a head constable of  Halasuru traffic policestation were assaulted by two bike-borne men when they were flagged down by the police on Inner Ring Road as the rider was not wearing a helmet

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