A very bad expereince with traffic policeman.

hkanitkar · 19th July 2006, 00:06

Today evening, i was driving down to City Pride ( a multiplex in Pune ) from my house at 7.45 PM. There's a traffic light just about 70 - 80 metres from our gate.. stopped at the light and saw a very old lady standing right in the middle of the road.
I thought she was crossing the road .. so just waited her to cross. Then all of a sudden i noticed she was not able to walk and in a feeble voice, calling for help. I parked my car on side, got out and helped her cross the road. In the mean time i noticed 2 traffic policemen standing at the junction. Both of them were busy with collecting money from bikers they had stopped. Now these 2 guys had seen the lady and simply ignored her.
I helped the lady and then went to the policeman on my side of road and asked him whether he had seen the lady and why didn't he help her.

His reply : why dont you do your duty of helping the poor lady and leave me to mine..
He also argued with me that its not his duty to look into such matters.

Now, i have just one question. Would that policeman do the same thing if his / his boss' mother ???

Another thing, If i want to report such matters, where should i do that ? I am planning to shoot off a letter to local newspaper 'Sakal' and 'Loksatta' along with 'TOI'

I asked for the policeman's badge number & name. He plainly refused and walked away. I couldnt do anything as none of the by-standers came forward to stop him or even force him to give me the details. I suppose any Government servant refusing to give your identity is an offence; so this would be another matter to report.

After this incident, I will always be thinking twice before trusting/ respecting any policeman.

karthik247 · 19th July 2006, 00:10

Well.....thats how the cops are in India pal! Some of them are just very low lying b*******!!!

And there ain't a damn thing we can do about it

aZa · 19th July 2006, 00:33

HKanitkar : photo journalism comes into picture here if u could the old lady and the Busy COP in the frame of ur picture (b4 helping the old lady) it would have said it all ... Such pix would help the newspapers too

aniguchisan · 19th July 2006, 02:56

Exactly. Besides stupid MMS', a phone camera would've come to a great and noble use in such an incident.

Sad...

naveendhyani · 19th July 2006, 09:58

pls use ur camera phones for such things. i guess that wil b an additional feature of the camera.

Samrat Banerjee · 19th July 2006, 11:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkanitkar

Today evening, i was driving down to City Pride ( a multiplex in Pune ) from my house at 7.45 PM. There's a traffic light just about 70 - 80 metres from our gate.. stopped at the light and saw a very old lady standing right in the middle of the road.
I thought she was crossing the road .. so just waited her to cross. Then all of a sudden i noticed she was not able to walk and in a feeble voice, calling for help. I parked my car on side, got out and helped her cross the road. In the mean time i noticed 2 traffic policemen standing at the junction. Both of them were busy with collecting money from bikers they had stopped. Now these 2 guys had seen the lady and simply ignored her.
I helped the lady and then went to the policeman on my side of road and asked him whether he had seen the lady and why didn't he help her.

His reply : why dont you do your duty of helping the poor lady and leave me to mine..
He also argued with me that its not his duty to look into such matters.

Now, i have just one question. Would that policeman do the same thing if his / his boss' mother ???

After this incident, I will always be thinking twice before trusting/ respecting any policeman.

Agree with Karthik247;
theres not a thingie one can do put some sense into people who are only concerned with their self-interest... and that applies equally to the policemen and the by-standers.

The other side of course is in your helping the old lady you have shown theres still plenty of people who just care about other people, and that speaks volumes to both the policemen and the silent by-standers. Hopefully one of them would learn from your action.

On the other suggestion of sending a photo to any newspapers..: there are dime a dozen such photos and the awareness of the same is so high that it possibly fails to affect the mass of us anymore.
cheers.

Boom Shiva · 19th July 2006, 11:41

Boss, if you clicked a photo and the cop saw you, chances are he would try and take away your phone and implicate you in some false charge, so it's a good thing you did no such thing.

Your best bet is to write in to the papers. The police will have a record of who was posted at the signal at the time, so won't be a problem to track their black sheep if the newspapers make enough noise about it.

Glad you did the decent thing...it's sad how rare it's become.

zenx · 19th July 2006, 17:38

First up, salute u for following up on what so many of us feel but never do because of selfish or idotic reasons (rush, "embarrassment", callousness)....

OT:The whole cop scene is a cop out.
1. low wages -> the wrong people take it up, and for the wrong reasons
2. political pressure -> lack of execution powers even when the desire's there
3. desensitization -> they encounter so much filth they treat everyone like that

luvjascha · 19th July 2006, 18:58

@BoomShiva : Please check your PM

madhav · 19th July 2006, 19:32

hkanitkar... good job! Atleast you didn't turn a blind eye to that poor lady.
My Question... We are trying to find fault with the cop, but can you tell me how many people who were around that area and didnt stop to help this lady? The problem is plain apathy that exists among Indians. We are by and large people with helping nature, but we choose to ignore many things as not our problem and that attitude has grown to plague us in many areas. No school teaches civic sense or responsibility seriously, so our next gen is going to be no different.
And our poor police is just another Indian who happens to be wearing a uniform... mentality is still the same!

PS: I'm not supporting the cops here or saying that they were right to have ignored the lady or replied so irresponsibly. I'm only saying that the problem is with everyone in our country.

sajo · 19th July 2006, 22:18

Hkanitkar, that was a great thing to do! Getting his name and badge number would have helped with the newspaper letter though.
If the cop was standing idle by the side of the road, he would have helped her. But since he had stopped a few motorists, it was his business time... so what if people are stranded helpless in the middle of the road.

hkanitkar · 20th July 2006, 00:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by madhav

The problem is plain apathy that exists among Indians. We are by and large people with helping nature, but we choose to ignore many things ........ not supporting the cops here or saying that they were right to have ignored the lady or replied so irresponsibly. I'm only saying that the problem is with everyone in our country.

same thing has been on my mind since yesterday.

Tried searching for the policeman today eve. Looks like he is simply vanished.

shrivz · 20th July 2006, 09:17

i guess its important to get his badge number and be harsh with such b******, raise your voice and create a scene, and make sure you get that badge number the next time...

To put it short, the main reason that India is behind the rest id purely due to the lack of self discipline amongst us Indians...

rks · 20th July 2006, 10:59

Firstly I agree that it was the cop's job to help the lady cross the road -- if only in the interests of safety for the lady and other road users. Surely the cops would not like to be saddled with an accident and the resulting mess.

Secondly, the lady should not have ventured into the middle of the road if she were not sure of being able to cross by herself - should have sought assistance from the cops or others prior to crossing.

Lastly, I want to warn that there are many frauds who wouldn't mind using some old lady to make drivers stop and then maybe steal something as these good samaritans rush out to help. If at all you want to help, make sure that you lock your car after parking and be very alert to the possiblity that your mobile, purse or other belongings could get stolen.

hkanitkar · 23rd July 2006, 22:31

Ok there's an update on the matter.

Somehow, the traffic hawaldaar i had written about, is suspended from duty for 3 months. All i did was to talk to a Traffic inspetor i personally know and give him the time and place of the incident. No written statement was asked from me ---- Something that really surprised me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rks

Secondly, the lady should not have ventured into the middle of the road if she were not sure of being able to cross by herself - should have sought assistance from the cops or others prior to crossing.

dud, she started to cross the road and as its a left-turning road, people on two wheelers generally do not stop till the light turns green - one or two of such riders whizzed past the lady and she got frightened and thus, couldn't cross the road. At least thats what happened in front of my eyes. a total of 5 vehicles passed by the lady without waiting for the lights to turn green. 2 of them - autorickshaws and 3 bikers.

19th July 2006, 00:06	#1
hkanitkar BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: pune Posts: 668 Thanked: 109 Times View My Garage	A very bad experience with traffic policeman. Today evening, i was driving down to City Pride ( a multiplex in Pune ) from my house at 7.45 PM. There's a traffic light just about 70 - 80 metres from our gate.. stopped at the light and saw a very old lady standing right in the middle of the road. I thought she was crossing the road .. so just waited her to cross. Then all of a sudden i noticed she was not able to walk and in a feeble voice, calling for help. I parked my car on side, got out and helped her cross the road. In the mean time i noticed 2 traffic policemen standing at the junction. Both of them were busy with collecting money from bikers they had stopped. Now these 2 guys had seen the lady and simply ignored her. I helped the lady and then went to the policeman on my side of road and asked him whether he had seen the lady and why didn't he help her. His reply : why dont you do your duty of helping the poor lady and leave me to mine.. He also argued with me that its not his duty to look into such matters. Now, i have just one question. Would that policeman do the same thing if his / his boss' mother ??? Another thing, If i want to report such matters, where should i do that ? I am planning to shoot off a letter to local newspaper 'Sakal' and 'Loksatta' along with 'TOI' I asked for the policeman's badge number & name. He plainly refused and walked away. I couldnt do anything as none of the by-standers came forward to stop him or even force him to give me the details. I suppose any Government servant refusing to give your identity is an offence; so this would be another matter to report. After this incident, I will always be thinking twice before trusting/ respecting any policeman. Last edited by hkanitkar : 19th July 2006 at 00:16.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 00:10	#2
karthik247 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD Posts: 2,710 Thanked: 30 Times	Well.....thats how the cops are in India pal! Some of them are just very low lying b*******!!! And there ain't a damn thing we can do about it
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 00:33	#3
aZa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Noida / Delhi Posts: 1,595 Thanked: 21 Times View My Garage	HKanitkar : photo journalism comes into picture here if u could the old lady and the Busy COP in the frame of ur picture (b4 helping the old lady) it would have said it all ... Such pix would help the newspapers too
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 02:56	#4
aniguchisan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 2,022 Thanked: 123 Times View My Garage	Exactly. Besides stupid MMS', a phone camera would've come to a great and noble use in such an incident. Sad...
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 09:58	#5
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542 Thanked: 9 Times	pls use ur camera phones for such things. i guess that wil b an additional feature of the camera.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 11:41	#7
Boom Shiva BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,055 Thanked: 18 Times	Boss, if you clicked a photo and the cop saw you, chances are he would try and take away your phone and implicate you in some false charge, so it's a good thing you did no such thing. Your best bet is to write in to the papers. The police will have a record of who was posted at the signal at the time, so won't be a problem to track their black sheep if the newspapers make enough noise about it. Glad you did the decent thing...it's sad how rare it's become.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 17:38	#8
zenx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,161 Thanked: 158 Times View My Garage	First up, salute u for following up on what so many of us feel but never do because of selfish or idotic reasons (rush, "embarrassment", callousness).... OT:The whole cop scene is a cop out. 1. low wages -> the wrong people take it up, and for the wrong reasons 2. political pressure -> lack of execution powers even when the desire's there 3. desensitization -> they encounter so much filth they treat everyone like that
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 18:58	#9
luvjascha BANNED Join Date: May 2006 Location: BOM Posts: 429 Thanked: 2 Times	@BoomShiva : Please check your PM
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19th July 2006, 19:32	#10
madhav BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 286 Thanked: 73 Times	hkanitkar... good job! Atleast you didn't turn a blind eye to that poor lady. My Question... We are trying to find fault with the cop, but can you tell me how many people who were around that area and didnt stop to help this lady? The problem is plain apathy that exists among Indians. We are by and large people with helping nature, but we choose to ignore many things as not our problem and that attitude has grown to plague us in many areas. No school teaches civic sense or responsibility seriously, so our next gen is going to be no different. And our poor police is just another Indian who happens to be wearing a uniform... mentality is still the same! PS: I'm not supporting the cops here or saying that they were right to have ignored the lady or replied so irresponsibly. I'm only saying that the problem is with everyone in our country.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 22:18	#11
sajo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 2,625 Thanked: 1,153 Times	Hkanitkar, that was a great thing to do! Getting his name and badge number would have helped with the newspaper letter though. If the cop was standing idle by the side of the road, he would have helped her. But since he had stopped a few motorists, it was his business time... so what if people are stranded helpless in the middle of the road. Last edited by sajo : 19th July 2006 at 22:20.
	() Thanks

20th July 2006, 09:17	#13
shrivz BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Pune, MH12 Posts: 604 Thanked: 96 Times View My Garage	i guess its important to get his badge number and be harsh with such b****, raise your voice and create a scene, and make sure you get that badge number the next time... To put it short, the main reason that India is behind the rest id purely due to the lack of self discipline** amongst us Indians...
	() Thanks

20th July 2006, 10:59	#14
rks BANNED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ?? Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 17 Times	Firstly I agree that it was the cop's job to help the lady cross the road -- if only in the interests of safety for the lady and other road users. Surely the cops would not like to be saddled with an accident and the resulting mess. Secondly, the lady should not have ventured into the middle of the road if she were not sure of being able to cross by herself - should have sought assistance from the cops or others prior to crossing. Lastly, I want to warn that there are many frauds who wouldn't mind using some old lady to make drivers stop and then maybe steal something as these good samaritans rush out to help. If at all you want to help, make sure that you lock your car after parking and be very alert to the possiblity that your mobile, purse or other belongings could get stolen. Last edited by rks : 20th July 2006 at 11:04.
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