You can rely upon law enforcement to protect you from a threat, but who would protect them when they themselves are at the receiving end of violence? It seems like policemen in Delhi are having a difficult time handling errant traffic violators. As many as four Delhi traffic cops were severely beaten up on two different occasions in a matter of just one week.
In the first incident, two motorcyclists, along with their accomplices beat up two traffic constables during wee hours of Monday. The episode began around 10am at the Bhajanpura-Gokulpuri crossing on the Wazirabad Road area in Delhi. On duty Head Constable Jai Bhagwan, 55, and Constable Manoj Kumar, 25, stopped motorcyclists, Shahnawaz Ahmed, 25 and Amir, 18, for riding a motorcycle without a helmet, swerving dangerously through the traffic and breaking the red signal.
After being stopped, the violators allegedly hurled abuses at the cops and tried to flee the spot. But Bhagwan pulled out the keys of the motorcycle while Kumar noted down the registration number. Meanwhile, one of the youth called his relatives who soon arrived at the spot along with a mob. The mob allegedly asked the constables to cancel the challan and let the youth let off as they were heading home after Ramzaan prayers.
That’s when Sagir Ahmed, relative of one of the motorcyclist, stepped ahead and punched head constable Bhagwan on his face. Head Constable Bhagwan and Constable Manoj Kumar were severely beaten up as the angry mob punched and kicked the duo. Mobile phones and the e-challan machine of the cops were also damaged in the incident. Here is the shaming video of the incident captured by an eyewitness (you may have to wait for a few seconds for the video to appear):
In another incident, two more traffic cops identified as Vinod and Sitaram were allegedly thrashed by an autorickshaw driver and a group of 10-12 men in northeast Delhi’s Seelampur area. The argument began when Constables Vinod and Sitaram asked the autorickshaw driver, identified as Asif, to maneuver his vehicle in order to ease the traffic jam. But instead of following the directions, Asif called about 10-12 people and allegedly thrashed the cops. The constables were admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital while Asif and three more persons were detained.
While we do not know the other side of the story, the violators did not have any right to physically assault anyone, let alone law-enforcing cops, no matter the circumstance. We are highly disappointed after coming across these incidents and we expect the law makers to mete out a harsh punishment for the felons. Do you agree with us? Share your views with us through the comments section below.
With inputs from PTI