Rash driving: Dy Commissioner chases down rogue truck driver, three held

Murli Dhar, Deputy Commissioner (South), caught a truck by chasing it for one and a half kilometre when the vehicle was trying to flee after hitting a traffic cop on Tuesday night.

A police officer said traffic cop, Durga Shankar Hazra stopped a truck at Turf View crossing after finding it violating traffic norms. The errant driver misbehaved with him when the latter had asked him to give paper documents including his driving licence.

Following an altercation, the driver started the truck and attempted to flee. The driver sped up the vehicle and escaped after hitting him. He received minor injuries and passed the information about the incident over wireless communication system.

Right at that moment the Deputy Commissioner was passing by the area and found the speeding truck jumping traffic signals.

He also asked the driver of his car to speed up his vehicle and to follow the truck. Finding the police’s car following the truck, its driver further accelerated the vehicle and tried to flee. While attempting to escape it hit two more vehicles.

The deputy Commissioner’s car continued chasing the offending vehicle. The truck driver also hit the deputy Commissioner’s car when it was running parallel with it. But it failed to escape as the deputy Commissioner overtook the truck and forced the driver to stop the vehicle in front of the National Library.

Within a few minutes, police officers from Alipore police station reached the spot. The driver of the vehicle, Seikh Firoz and two helpers Prasanta Sai and Raju Das were arrested. The truck has also been seized.

A police officer said that a probe has been initiated after the sergeant had lodged a complaint with Alipore police station and the driver was booked on charges of rash driving, deterring a public servant from discharging his duty and abusing him.

The accused persons were produced before the court on Wednesday and they were remanded in the custody of the police. It may be recalled that the city police have taken several steps in the past few years to check rash driving at night. There were several incidents in the city a few years ago that had claimed lives due to rash driving.

An officer from Alipore police station said: “Such move by senior police officers boost up the morale of the subordinate officers and policemen of all ranks.”