Don’t have a helmet? Kolkata biker asks cop, gets slapped

KOLKATA: Days after Lalbazar ‘closed' a cop from Bansdroni Police Station for allegedly slapping an app bike driver who showed his vehicle documents on Digilocker instead of showcasing the hard copies, the Kolkata Police headquarters has launched investigation in yet another case of biker-cop conflict on Monday.
This time, the probe aims to ascertain the role of two constables, now posted at Patuli Police Station. It has been alleged that they misbehaved with a social content creator, who pointed at one of them for not wearing a helmet. A purported video of the alleged incident that has now gone viral on Facebook shows one of the cops briefly jostling the content creator, pushing and slapping him.

It has prompted both Joint CP (Crime & Traffic) Rupesh Kumar and DC (Traffic) Shrikant Jagannathrao Yeliwad to promise a high-level probe into the incident recorded from the EM Bypass. The video shows two bikers — one of whom is a social content creator — asking the two cops, also on a bike, why the pillion rider, a constable, was not wearing a helmet. In reply, the rider cop asked the two bikers to pull over.
Both cops in uniform reportedly took away the keys of their (bikers) two-wheeler, claiming that they were trying to flee.
As the argument continued, the cops argued that they were on emergency duty. When the bikers replied that common men were not allowed to ride bikes without helmets even in an emergency, an argument followed. The 8.2-minute-long video then showed the cops asking why the bikers were shooting a video without permission. The bikers replied it was for their safety. The cops then threatened to take the bike to the local police station.
One of the bikers challenged him immediately, asking him to prove they broke any law. Suddenly, the rider cop charged at this biker and misbehaved. This video ends with the cops returning the keys and leaving the spot. The bikers uploaded the video on Facebook.
While cops at Lalbazar claimed they are investigating the circumstances, they said the probe would also try to ascertain whether the cops were "provoked" by the bikers for the "sake of content."
"DC Traffic South has been asked to look into the case," said a top official at Lalbazar. It is not known if the constable filmed the entire conversation, but body cams are also issued to constables on a need basis, reminded officers at Lalbazar. CP Manoj Verma emphasised the correct use of body cameras at a recent meeting held with traffic cops.