Shaken by the death of constable Vilas Shinde, who was brutally thrashed by a biker at a petrol pump, the Mumbai Traffic Police has now withdrawn all cops who were posted at fuel stations across Mumbai
Shaken by the death of constable Vilas Shinde, who was brutally thrashed by a biker at a petrol pump, the Mumbai Traffic Police has now withdrawn all cops who were posted at fuel stations across the city. The department tried to underplay its decision and denied it had anything to do with the death. However, petrol pump owners told mid-day that cops had stopped visiting soon after the attack on Shinde.
Vilas Shinde
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On August 6, the traffic department had launched an initiative to post cops at each petrol pump to collect data about all the vehicles in the city. The cops were also instructed to catch any motorists breaking rules. “In all there are 23 lakh vehicles in Mumbai. The RTOs have database of just 6 to 7 lakh vehicles that were registered post 2013. To get the details of the remaining vehicles, we deputed constables at the petrol pumps. The cops were also given the task of punishing unruly bikers and motorists. Under this drive, we have charged several bikers for riding without helmets or proper documents,” confirmed an officer from south Mumbai.
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Traffic police had started the petrol pump drive on August 6
On August 23, the day the attack took place, Vilas Shinde, a constable attached to the Bandra division, was posted at a petrol pump in Khar. He spotted a biker without a helmet and asked him for his details. The biker – who was 17 years old and was not even carrying any documents – began to argue with Shinde. In the meanwhile, he called his elder brother for help. When his brother arrived at the petrol pump, the two of them hit Shinde on his head with a thick wooden staff. On seeing that Shinde was seriously hurt, the duo fled from there, and Shinde was rushed to Lilavati Hospital by his colleagues.
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Within days, it became clear that Shinde was fighting a losing battle for life, and traffic cops were no longer seen on duty at fuel stations.
When mid-day contacted Joint Commissioner of Police Milind Bharambe, however, he claimed that the withdrawal of cops was a pre-planned decision, and that they were only supposed to carry out the data collection drive till August 31. “It was only a one-month drive supposed to last till August 31; this decision has nothing to do with the death of Shinde. Also, we will need these staffers for the nearing Ganpati festival, considering the staff crunch in the force.”
However, several petrol pump owners and employees confirmed to mid-day that the cops had disappeared long before August 31.
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