The city’s traffic police will have a new mascot in ‘Meesey’ Thimmaiah – the man who manned GPO circle for many years and was well known for his precise management of traffic, as per a report in The Hindu.
He was famous for his huge twirled moustache which is how he got the name ‘Meesey Thimmaiah’. He died in the line of duty while trying to save a woman and her child from being run over by a vehicle in 1995.
“He was very popular with children and was much loved by everyone in the city. We are considering his likeness as the mascot for the traffic police as one of the options. However, no decision has been taken yet,” R. Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, said.
Thimmaiah enrolled with the traffic police force in 1977, and got married a year later. “My husband always had a thing for big moustaches. In 1985, he started to grow his own moustache. Soon, people were calling him Meesey Thimmaiah. He loved it, and oiled and combed it every day. The Police department even gave him an annual allowance of Rs. 500 for it,” his wife Lakshamma had told Deccan Chronicle in an interview in April 2016.
She added that he was punctual and committed to his police duty and he never took any leaves. He also did not have any complaints against him.
He was the family’s sole earning member when he passed away in August 1995, leaving behind his wife and three children.
Thimmaiah had an immaculate record till his death and was awarded for his services posthumously with a gold medal by the state government. The GPO circle which he managed with great distinction was renamed in his honour as Police Thimmaiah Circle.
Reacting to the development, a senior police official told The Hindu that it is important to keep the memory of someone like Thimmaiah alive.
The Bangalore Traffic Police tweeted a picture of the mascot.
In #memory of Late Traffic Cop Sh Timmaiah who died on duty at GPO Junction now known as "Police Timmaiah" Jn, presenting BTP's Mascot. pic.twitter.com/JxguAilTrc
— BTP (@blrcitytraffic) June 7, 2017