The suspension of ASI Mahesh D C and HC Gangadharappa of Halasuru Gate traffic station for accepting ₹2,500 from a car owner for an “official favour” on June 10 is testimony to tacit corruption among the traffic police. The incident also violates the standing orders of the heads of the traffic department, and the order given in September last year by the present Home Minister Araga Jnanendra.
This was the same stand taken by then Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the floor of the House in March last year. The Traffic Police are not supposed to ask for vehicle documents after they randomly stop vehicles in the middle of the road, Mr Bommai had said in reply to MLC H. M. Ramesh Gowda’s question during the ‘Question Hour’ in the Legislative Council. If a motorist has not violated any traffic law, the Traffic Police cannot stop you just to check your documents, he had said.
Even though Joint Commissioner of Police B R Ravikanthe Gowda reiterated that the traffic police on duty should not resort to random vehicle checks and stick to their basic duty of monitoring the traffic flow, the traffic police continue to stand at every nook and corner of the road to conduct random vehicle checks. This is the most lucrative work for the police as they carry back a pocketful of their share at the end of the day, said a police official.
