Can a police constable stop a vehicle in the middle of the road, abruptly turn off the engine and take away the ignition key? The Hyderabad Traffic Police admits it is a wrong practice, but supports its erring staff saying there is no other alternative.
The rights of motorists and duties of police personnel manning the traffic in Hyderabad was the focus of debate on the social networking site, Facebook, and microblogging forum, Twitter, on Monday. The way the police personnel stop the vehicles formed part of the debate on the Facebook and Twitter.
The common complaint by motorists, particularly two-wheeler riders, is high-handedness of police of stopping the vehicle and taking away the ignition key. Instead of addressing the problem, the Traffic Police went on the offensive by posting on the Facebook and Twitter: “We agree this is not a good thing to pull out keys in the middle of the roads, but we have to work according to the situation.”
But traffic cops had no answer to “What if the motorists too work according to the situation?” A common sight on the roads of the city is the police personnel forcibly removing the ignition key in the midst of traffic and directing the motorcyclist to the road side. This leaves the motorcyclist with no option but to walk the vehicle to the police official standing there with a challan book.
Facebook post by the police explains that they have to follow such an approach because violators of traffic rules are not very forthcoming. But in reality, the victims of such an authoritarian approach are more often than not, people who possess valid documents.