A 46-year-old motorist was killed on the spot during a traffic inspection drive in Mysore late on Monday evening. Following the incident, locals thrashed two traffic police personnel and destroyed a police vehicle. The duo were taken to a private hospital and are stated to be out of danger.
The victim, Devaraju, was returning home after finishing work, when VV Puram traffic police tried to stop him. According to witnesses, Devaraju did not have any clue that the policemen were hiding behind a tree and could show up suddenly in front of the bike.
A local said, “The man had to move little away from the police to evade collusion. But the traffic police thought he was trying to escape and hit him with a baton. That’s when he fell down and another speeding truck run him over.”
Soon after, locals created a human chain in protest against the traffic department’s “hide and seek” act that resulted in the death of the civil engineer from HD Kote.
When News18 checked for Devaraju’s vehicle number and track record of any traffic violation, there was no case against him. He was also wearing a helmet when police tried to stop him.
This is not the first case in the state where traffic police have been accused of harassing motorists in their bid to catch violators. Social media has plenty of such tales where traffic police personnel hide behind trees, signals or pillars and suddenly show up in front of the vehicles. However, no action has been taken against the law enforcers so far.
Cops Losing Lives
– In March, 2018, a traffic police constable was killed when he allegedly tried to stop a speeding car for inspection on NICE Road where cars normally travel at high speed. However, police said no such inspection drive was being conducted and the victim had lost his life while crossing the road.
– In February, 2020, a speeding car rammed into three police constables, killing one of them on the spot on way to Kempegowda International Airport. Police were stopping cars for over-speeding using interceptors when a car rammed into them. According to drivers, it is difficult to notice the interceptors and police personnel on the airport road. Even if someone spots them at the last moment, it becomes difficult to control the speed within seconds.
Earlier, when IPS officer MA Saleem was additional commissioner of police (traffic), personnel were given digital cameras and offenders were sent details of violation and fine at their addresses.
Saleem had introduced a number of other measures to bring down corruption in the department. One such rule was traffic personnel had to declare how much money they had at the start of duty and how much was collected at the end of day.
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