Two traffic police officials in Bengaluru were suspended for stopping a man transporting a wash basin in his car and collecting a bribe to the tune of Rs 2,500. On June 10, Santhosh Kumar, who hails from Kerala, was travelling in the city in his car (with a Kerala registration), when he was stopped by two traffic personnel attached to the Halasuru Gate station. They asked for his registration documents when they saw that Santhosh was carrying a wash basin in his car. Seeing this, the two officers — an Assistant Sub-Inspector and a Head Constable — threatened to seize his car and asked him to pay a Rs 20,000 fine to the court to release it.
Upon Santhosh’s protests, the two officers demanded a payment of Rs 2,500, which they pocketed without generating any receipt. The matter was brought to the notice of senior officials after Santhosh emailed them with his complaint. By reviewing footage of the officers’ body-worn cameras, it was found that they had only stopped Santhosh’s vehicle to verify his documents, and not because he had committed an offence. After the two officers were found guilty, they were suspended and further disciplinary action will be taken, a release from the police said.
After news of Santhosh’s ordeal surfaced online, triggering outrage among citizens, Director General and Inspector general of Police (DG&IGP) Praveen Sood tweeted, “I reiterate again… no vehicle SHALL BE STOPPED merely for checking documents unless it has committed a traffic violation visible to the naked eye. Only exception is drunken driving. Have instructed @CPBlr & @jointcptraffic for its implementation immediately (sic).”
This is not the first time that Praveen Sood has said that traffic fines must only be collected from motorists who have committed offences. After assuming charge as the Police Commissioner in 2017, the senior IPS officer had issued a directive not to conduct random checks on motorists, to try and portray the police as people-friendly, The Hindu reported. He had also written to other traffic personnel about the same in 2009, when he was the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).