123 Kolkata: A traffic sergeant from Jorabagan Traffic Guard was allegedly manhandled by a young motorist in north Kolkata on Monday morning after the cop chased and managed to stop the accused from driving on the city roads in an inebriated condition. This was the fourth instance of manhandling of cops on city roads in the past two months. The accused was detained, and legal action was initiated against him.
A video emerged showing the accused trying to deter cops, with the sergeant and another cop repeatedly asking him why he was misbehaving with the men in uniform. A test later confirmed that the accused was drunk, much higher than the permissible limit.
According to police, it was around 7.20 am when Sergeant Dipak Bairagi was performing his morning shift duty in the north sector, standing on JM Avenue. He noticed a private car taking a U-turn from the Joy Mitra and JM Avenue crossing from north to south. "The driver was driving dangerously, and it seemed he was swerving. Bairagi chased the vehicle and intercepted it at the crossing of Nilmoni Mitra and JM Avenue. He asked the driver to provide his licence for prosecution. The accused began to push and shove Bairagi and another officer who helped stop the car at the crossing. He also tried to get into an argument with the police," said an officer from the traffic wing.
During the conversation, the officers suspected that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. So, Bairagi arranged to bring a breath analyser from the Jorabagan Guard, and it was detected that the driver was drunk beyond permissible limits. "The driver, Sambhu Pal, a resident of Sukhpukhari in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas, was handed over to SI K Mondal of Burtolla PS for further action. The cops at Burtolla initiated a case of drunk driving and let off the accused as per law," said an officer.
In Nov, an additional OC of South Traffic Guard was injured while trying to stop a clash between two groups in Regent Park and was admitted to the trauma care centre at SSKM. Three people were arrested for obstructing and assaulting the police officer. The same month, one person was arrested for allegedly damaging a Sealdah Traffic police kiosk and obstructing police personnel after he was ‘upset' with police who detained his acquaintance on charges of misbehaving with a lady passenger inside a crowded bus.