[dark.knight]

On March 23rd, Bogadi Ring Road in Mysore was witness to an ugly incident where the true culprit(s) is/are yet to be ascertained, though most eyewitnesses maintain that while traffic police checks were being held furiously (as has been the norm in Karnataka ever since lockdown opened up) in that ring road, one motorist riding a 2-wheeler, in his bid to escape the long arm of the law (witnesses are of 2 kinds here, some allege that the police lunged at the biker in an intimidating fashion which caused him to change course, while others including the alleged passenger of that very bike, claim that they changed course by themselves to avoid penalty, but we do know how the law can coerce a witness/survivor to gain leverage, don't we), he turned heel, thus coming into collision course with a lorry behind him.

The police were sure-fire guilty in one aspect, they flagged down a Piaggio Ape goods rickshaw and half-heartedly placed the deceased into the rear portion, not even minding his legs as they callously closed the gate, after which the public swarmed and thrashed the cops (in my view, well deserved).

Here's the video link after the events, viewer discretion advised due to violence, though there are zero visuals of the victim or the accident spot :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMwByE92xU

There is another video of the police handling the victim's remains like it is garbage, so there is video evidence of that atrocity, please do not search for it as there are disturbing visuals.

As of today, there is a staged protest as well :

https://starofmysore.com/hinkal-acci...gainst-police/

Who is at fault here, the rider who was trying to escape the law, or the police who are at present, going to any extent to stop a motorist (refer to the incident where a Hyderabad cop was hit by a bike because he came in the way of it, even when the rider was at high speeds) or is it just the dysfunctional chaos that we're all too familiar with in this land?

Hope the Karnataka police learn their lessons from this, I've seen them chasing bikes against a one-way, one was in direct collision course with my car, and I screamed like a little girl and went to the left, shortly before I gave the cop an earful for putting me in that position.

Let's not sweep this under the carpet, absolute rules do not work in India with this extent of population, we're all used to decades of malleable situations and adjusting with the chaos, today police are rigging the yellow light signals to flash for a single second, thus capturing all the motorists caught midway into a ticket, they are loading fake violations one after the other (I've successfully reversed FOUR tickets in my name, I'll save that for another post) and they are hell bent on creating a cat-&-mouse game on the crowded and dangerous roads instead of just filing a complaint against the registration number.

Thoughts on this incident? I'm sure some members here will have more info than I have.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

The police were sure-fire guilty in one aspect, they flagged down a Piaggio Ape goods rickshaw and half-heartedly placed the deceased into the rear portion, not even minding his legs as they callously closed the gate, after which the public swarmed and thrashed the cops (in my view, well deserved).


Who is at fault here, the rider who was trying to escape the law, or the police who are at present, going to any extent to stop a motorist (refer to the incident where a Hyderabad cop was hit by a bike because he came in the way of it, even when the rider was at high speeds) or is it just the dysfunctional chaos that we're all too familiar with in this land?

Hope the Karnataka police learn their lessons from this, I've seen them chasing bikes against a one-way, one was in direct collision course with my car, and I screamed like a little girl and went to the left, shortly before I gave the cop an earful for putting me in that position.

Thoughts on this incident? I'm sure some members here will have more info than I have.

It's very sad to know that a man's life has been lost due to the cops and they deserve the thrashing. Man , they think that they are invincible after they wear that uniform.

The leadership of the police department need to come up with innovative ways to enforce traffic rules without endangering public life. Police are meant to support public but the stigma created by themselves puts the entire department in a spot tin the eyes of the public.

They act like goons at times and pounce upon two wheelers or cars just to meet their targets

KA police will never learn from their mistakes. In Bangalore, in a similar scenario few years ago, the police man had died. Despite losing their own staff, they're so keen on pocketing that 500 or 1000 despite the government paying them a handsome salary.

Unless this "adjust" attitude remains with all of us, things are going to remain the same and there will be no changes. Please don't get me wrong because I'm speaking negatively, I'm stating the live reality around us

I can go on and on but I decide to rest my case here as this news or our views will be valid only for a few days and then the same cycle continues.

[am1m]

Don't want to take sides because am sure there were faults on both sides and certainly mob justice is not acceptable at all.

But I really hope the traffic police departments go in for 'interaction-less' enforcement which will be great for both the public and for the safety and peace of mind of the policemen themselves. I mean why does a policeman even have to flag down offenders or engage in any form of 'discussion' with them? Just click a photo or take down the number and send the ticket. (Yes, in many instances the address/registration will be wrong, and yes we all know the reasons why cops will want to engage in 'discussions'.) But what a waste of time and effort this flagging down.

Traffic offenders should fear the law and not the individual cop on the street. Similarly, the policemen need to be protected too while they do their difficult jobs. (I don't have much sympathy for traffic cops in general, but can't deny they have a hard time of it.)

[gkveda]

On first sight, it looks like police is at fault. If you Deep dive into the incident and analyse, police is just doing their duty.

1. Why did the police start hunting for traffic violators? Government wants more revenue.
2. Why did the rider try to escape from police? He cannot afford to pay that hefty amount of penalty. Who has raised the traffic violation penalty 10 times as compared to earlier. Again it's Government.

At surface, it looks like, police were trying to catch the traffic violation and because violator died, police is at fault. Mob psychology is "Who ever is suffering, is NOT at fault. Here rider suffered. Therefore, rider is innocent"

But, Per law,
1. Not stopping by the vehicle when stopped by officer in duty, is an offence. This rider has deliberately escaped from the police. This is a serious offence

2. While escaping from police, without looking at the prevailing traffic conditions on the road, he has driven rashly, causing the accident and has become victim.

Therefore, according to me, solely the rider himself and the greed of the government to get more revenue, are responsible for this mishap.

Police is NOT at fault. They just did their duty of catching traffic violations and tried to catch the escaping violator.

Certainly, I do not have mercy for the person who died in the incident.

Our people have to learn to follow rules whether anyone is watching you or not. We don't have that culture at all. Feel very sorry for the family who suffers because of none of their fault.

[ninjatalli]

This is an appalling situation on multiple aspects

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2ocro0RQ8I

Note: No gory scenes of the victim/accident

1. People taking violence on their hands hitting cops as well as damaging police vehicle(s).

2. That horrible horrible way the cop literally threw the body on to the back of the Piaggio tempo (move to 1:20 in above video). So many questions - why isn't an ambulance there at the spot? Couldn't they have got a better vehicle (why not the police van) to take the person to the nearest hospital? Don't cops have a basic training/understanding how to handle accident victims?

I live near a main junction - I see 2-wheelers getting into accidents every other week. Every single time the victim(s) are taken care of random folks and put in an auto in a much much better way than how the above was done. No visibility if better handling of the victim's body might have saved the person, but no person (even if they are at fault) should be treated as such.

[paragsachania]

What mobsters don't realise today is that when you appear on videos, they go viral. And when you have assaulted cops on duty, you for sure will not be spared:












Apparently, there is also a video doing rounds where the cops have spoken to the pillion who survived who shares that the Traffic cops are not even remotely related to the accident that took away the life of the rider the pillion was with.

[KPR]

Unfortunately we are in a nation where road is a circus.

On reading this I'm remembering the case that happened in my place exactly three years ago. The below case is like a movie scene in fact. When the offender didn't stop the bike, the cop chased the couple in his bike to catch hold of them.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...cks-bike-77605

https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...d-trial-127748

[tazmaan]

Very sad that the Bike rider lost his life.

There are 3 guilty parties to the story.

1. The biker, when asked to stop by a cop was at fault for not stopping. A similar incident had happened at carter road where a fleeing biker hit a cop and the cop was seriously injured.

2. The cops are at fault for trying to make unsafe stops. Many times they jump in front of the vehicle trying to stop them. There has to be a better way of doing this by clicking pictures etc. Let the vehicle run add another hefty fine for disobeying police officer on duty. The down side of this in a country like India is what if there as some mischief happening in the car or some explosives are being transported. Public will again blame the cops for letting them go.

3. The cops have no right to handle the victim the way they did. Strict action has to be taken against the cops.

4. The Mob which has no business in the above incident is the 3rd party at fault. Looks like they are going to be punished and rightly so.

For the sake of own safety always stop when asked to by cops. Even if you are not wearing helmet / seatbelt stop and pay the fine. Running and its consequences is not worth it.

[Doonite]

May the deceased rest in peace and the cops who handled the body like it was nothing, be punished. Imagine being the family member of the deceased person, and seeing such scenes!

I do have a couple of points though:

1) Are people doing high speeds in city driving? Is that why the cops jumping out to stop them is a hazard as well as the rider getting less time to react? I've been stopped many times in city streets of UK and UP (for reasons unknown to me) and never had a cop jumping on me to stop me. I'm always in a controlled speed in the cities and always stopped when a cop flagged me. Till date I've not been fined and let go everytime (max 10 minutes of time) because I had all the documents as well as wearing helmet in two wheeler and seatbelt in car.

In this case, assuming that the rider was not at high speed, why not stop if the cop is flagging you? Just show him whatever he asks, and move on. Certainly better than risking both his and your life?

2) Is this behaviour of cops jumping in front of a speeding vehicle common behaviour down south as per the other comments? If so, then it's dangerous no matter what the speed.

3) Mob justice needs to stop in our country. There's a fine margin where it's just mob beating a person and it resulting in lynching. People were recording videos all along of the cops actions, spread it on social media or go the nearest police station. There are lots of options, mob justice is not one of them!

[hareshjethwani]

The above incident shows more of the frustration against the cops for usually how they behave. Some behave like goons with no respect for the common public and feel invincible in the uniform.
On the other hand there are lot of well behaved cops too. There has to be standard procedure for checks.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

... or is it just the dysfunctional chaos that we're all too familiar with in this land?

Nothing but the above. We are fundamentally a lawless country with rampant lack of civic sense, corruption, "functional" law enforcement and justice, empathy for others, and a mindless "me first" attitude to public behavior (whether it is a queue, traffic light, right of way - anything at all).

Then whether that is in the shape of a motorist, cop, administrative bureaucrat, politician, judge or whatever else.

Every aspect of the above situation from the motorist to the cop to the crowd reaction is a reflection of some or all of the above traits.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

What mobsters don't realise today is that when you appear on videos, they go viral. And when you have assaulted cops on duty, you for sure will not be spared:

I have no sympathy to those who take law on to their own hand, these goons got what they deserve.
Given the perchance of police to hide and spring a surprise, the unfortunate victims appear to be the driver and cleaner of the tipper who have been arrested. I suppose any of us driving a 4+ wheeler down on that road could land up in such a scenario.
I've seen some cops trying to physically catch hold of 2 wheeler riders by the neck (both in BLR and MYS), on busy roads. Cops using lathis to stop overspeeding cars on the ECity experessway(60+Kmph). Policing of this kind is a recipe for disaster. Why can't they just send a ticket home? It makes no sense to risk the life and limb of the cops & motorists just for getting a spot payment.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Apparently, there is also a video doing rounds where the cops have spoken to the pillion who survived who shares that the Traffic cops are not even remotely related to the accident that took away the life of the rider the pillion was with.

This should be taken with a pinch of salt since the protestors have alleged that (from the star of mysore link shared by dark.knight)

the City Police have forced the accident survivor-cum-pillion rider Suresh, to give the statement of ‘clean chit’ to Traffic Cops even though there were eye witnesses to the incident. The FIR filed by the Police concerned should be on the basis of truth and not a ‘concocted’ version by the fellow Police.

There is an enquiry setup, my money is on the outcome that the cops were not responsible for this, going with the narrative in the news report.

While public claimed that the incident occurred as Traffic Cops chased them, the Cops claimed that the rider died as tipper rammed into his two-wheeler from behind. The probe will tell who is correct — public or Police. In the absence of CCTV, the Department was depending upon the statement of the Cops present near the spot yesterday.

[rahulananda]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Nothing but the above. We are fundamentally a lawless country with rampant lack of civic sense, corruption, "functional" law enforcement and justice, empathy for others, and a mindless "me first" attitude to public behavior (whether it is a queue, traffic light, right of way - anything at all).

Then whether that is in the shape of a motorist, cop, administrative bureaucrat, politician, judge or whatever else.

Every aspect of the above situation from the motorist to the cop to the crowd reaction is a reflection of some or all of the above traits.

Spot on!

But the funny irony is people who behave like goons here in India, literally crap in their pants when they come across law enforcement in US, Europe, Middle East etc.. We Indians follow the rules of the said countries without any qualms or protests because these countries have top notch technology implemented to identify and punish violators. Physical intervention is minimal.

Now in India, police force use rudimentary cops & robber strategy to catch hold of traffic violators which sadly leads to unfortunate events, like the one in the video. Who's to blame? Well, quoting Axe77 again

"We are fundamentally a lawless country with rampant lack of civic sense, corruption, "functional" law enforcement and justice, empathy for others, and a mindless "me first" attitude to public behavior (whether it is a queue, traffic light, right of way - anything at all)."

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by whitewing

This should be taken with a pinch of salt since the protestors have alleged that (from the star of mysore link shared by dark.knight)There is an enquiry setup, my money is on the outcome that the cops were not responsible for this, going with the narrative in the news report.

Here is the pillion riders version and he says the police have absolutely no role in this accident. I don't think he is being made to say that. Probably that is the truth, and people jumped the gun in assaulting the cops. Yeah, the cops are no saint either the way they enforce laws, but way the the crowd retorted looks barbaric.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZYxzGJNqC4

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Axe77

We are fundamentally a lawless country ....


Then whether that is in the shape of a motorist, cop, administrative bureaucrat, politician, judge or whatever else.

Quite timely to receive the link below on my riding group a short while ago. To the point I was making above, worth reading the high handedness of the cop as per the link below. A month or so ago a similar threat was issued by a cop around Satara I think on the main Pune Bangalore highway.

https://www.cartoq.com/cop-superbike-bangalore-highway/