Traffic cops brutally thrash auto driver for refusal to pay ‘Hafta’

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, July 23: In yet another cases of exposing the corruption and brutal world of traffic police department in Jammu, a traffic officer today assaulted a tempo driver for not paying him Hafta.

He was not only humiliated but assaulted by police personnel when the poor driver who was bringing vegetables from the Mandi was intercepted at Rajinder chowk in the morning hours. 

Sources said that when a load carrier with vegetables auto passing from Rajinder Singh Chowk, the on duty Sub Inspector Traffic Police, Mohan Lal stopped the auto and asking him for the entry fee.

 “Auto driver expressed his unwillingness to pay entry fee after which the SI with his two more cops start beating him miserably. It has become a norm in the city for the drivers of commercial vehicles to pay the weekly Hafta’, said a transporter.

 Talking to TNI, Senior Superintendent of Police Traffic, Jammu Manmohan Singh said after getting information SI was suspended alongwith two cops who had assaulted the driver.

“SI has been asked to report Srinagar division of Kashmir police and action will be taken against the cops for violating the rules. The issue has not been taken lightly by the force”, Singh said.

He maintained that a committee has been constituted for the said incident and inquiry has been initiated. “The department asked the auto driver to file the complaint against the accused” he added.

He disclosed that as per the traffic norms there is no such rule to take entry fee from the load carrier, if he is not violating the traffic norms.

This is not the first time that such an incident has shamed the traffic police, often in controversy over charges of corruption.

In December last year, two cops deployed at Bikram chowk got involved in a scuffle over some minor incident. Eyewitness account has claimed that traffic policeman stopped another traffic official who was violating the traffic rules and began arguing with each other over the way vehicle movement was being streamlined.

The verbal argument soon turned unto physical scuffle as the traffic official got short tempered and slapped the other one. "Officer misbehaved with other personnel and later he slapped him", said an eyewitness.