Police Inspector Fines Himself For Not Wearing A Helmet

The Indian government implemented the new Motor Vehicle Act in September, 2019. The amended MV act had increased fines for traffic violations by upto 10 times. The new rules were intended to discipline Indian motorists and it appears to have accomplished that to an extent.

The Bangalore Traffic Police announced that there was a 30 percent decline in traffic violations and a 21 percent increase in fines collected in September when compared to August 2019. Police departments from various other states and cities in the country too have reported similar positive results from the implementation of the new MV act.

However, there is a negative side to it as well. The strict enforcement of the hefty fines have lead to a tense and volatile relationship between the police and the general public. Several instances of clashes have been reported over the last month, from all over the country.

An RTO inspector in Bangalore was harassed by the public on suspicion of being drunk after he crashed into an auto-rickshaw. An ARTO's official vehicle was stopped by the general public who then forced a police inspector to fine him for not wearing a seatbelt. Now, this instance of villagers forcing a police inspector to fine himself has come to light.

The incident happened in Kiwada village near Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. The police inspector involved in the incident was present in the village along with a constable, for a routine check of vehicle's documents.

While doing this, he issued a fine amounting to Rs 5,000, to a motorist who was riding a two-wheeler without a helmet. Following this, the villagers started arguing with the inspector, asking him where his helmet was. He tried explaining that he wasn't really riding the two-wheeler.

However, he was clearly outnumbered with villagers arguing that he should have a helmet since he arrived there on a two-wheeler. After a lot of arguing and shouting, the policeman gave in and issued a challan to himself.

Under the new Motor Vehicle Act, there is a provision for police officers and other government officials to be fined twice as much as regular motorists are. This was done to ensure that government officials would set a good example.

However, a few government officials clearly aren't following it. Even in this case, the local police station has started prosecuting the villagers in the video for obstruction of law/interfering in the duty of a police officer.

Thoughts On Police Officer Issuing A Challan To Himself Under Pressure From Villagers

The villagers' demand were spot-on. If the police inspector was fining others for not wearing a helmet, he too deserves to be fined for the same. However, we can see the police taking a turn against the law and the new Motor Vehicle act by prosecuting the villagers for seeking justice. We wonder what Nitin Gadkari, the initiator of the new MV act has to say about this.