Attacks On Policemen Rise, Traffic Cops Bear The Brunt

Bhopal: Attacks on cops, especially traffic cops deployed in field duty, have increased during the past few months. More than a dozen cases of attacks on cops have been reported in the past six months. Two cases have been reported in the recent past wherein traffic cops were hit by car drivers and they were dragged on car bonnets for a few hundred metres.
A local wishing not to be named said, “Traffic cops deployed on field duty behave rudely with commuters. They have no patience. They snatch keys from the ignition switch of two-wheelers. Even if a person shows vehicle documents, they find one reason or another to penalise them and issue challan.”

He further said, “Traffic cops can be seen pouncing on vehicles like predators at many spots, especially at the Gurudev Gupt Square from MP Nagar police station and Board Office Square. Instead of making people follow traffic rules, these cops take this process as a revenue generation task. They make people feel that following traffic rules is not mandatory for their own safety but to save the challan fines with many commuters wearing helmets and seat belts just before checking points.”
Senior cops maintained that the cops posted in the field had to face the anger of people just because they were discharging their duty. They said that it is possible that the cops, who are deployed in the field in adverse weather conditions like sweltering heat, may get irritated. But in all these incidents it was found that the cops did not misbehave or start the dispute.
A senior traffic cop said that gone are the days when the constabulary used to be educated till class 8. Now the constables are well-educated and some even hold engineering and other major qualifications. They do not tolerate misbehaviour or threats of influential contacts which many times lead to disputes.
He said that police have been directed by the high court to ensure that traffic rules like wearing helmet while riding a two-wheeler or wearing seatbelts while driving a four-wheeler are followed by all commuters. Police have to submit their report before the court periodically to show what efforts they are making towards it. That is why, police have intensified vehicle checking.
Another cop said that traffic police conduct vehicle checking at around 30 points across the city in the morning hours till noon. No vehicle checking is conducted from 12pm to 4pm due to heat conditions.
In the evening, the traffic cops get involved in traffic management. Later, at night traffic police conduct drink and drive checking at various points. Apart from that special checking to check stunt riding is conducted at VIP Road and Airport Road at night with local police.
DCP (Traffic) Sanjay Singh admitted that incidents of attack on cops have increased in the recent past adding that it seems that people, especially youngsters, are becoming more and more aggressive. It seems to be the only reason behind these incidents. Senior officers have advised the cops to conduct checking at those points where there are CCTV cameras installed so that in case of any dispute the actual circumstances that led to the situation can be verified.
He said that it is the routine duty and task of the police to conduct vehicle checking, check documents and other works. Cops have been doing them for years. Mostly the youngsters were involved in these incidents like the recent attack on traffic cop in Habibganj or another incident where traffic cop was dragged on car bonnet in Piplani. The cops were simply doing their duty.
Traffic cops are regularly advised by senior officers to behave politely with the public in the field.
DCP Singh said that cops are regularly advised to conduct checking after setting up proper barricades or stoppers as a safety point of view. In the past cops were injured while stopping people as the vehicle drivers tried to run away from police checking. People should understand that if a cop is asking them to stop, they should stop. But people, who don’t have complete vehicle documents, tend to run away. People should follow traffic rules and cooperate with the cops on roads. In case the cops misbehave, they can file complaints with senior officers.