Traffic cop beaten up for refusing to accept old Rs 500 note

A traffic sergeant was beaten up at Landsdown crossing on Monday morning as he had refused to take invalid Rs 500 notes after slapping a fine for not wearing helmet while driving motorbike.

Police said that traffic sergeant Souvik Sarkar was on duty at Landsdown crossing.

He found two young men travelling on a motorbike, but neither of them was wearing a helmet.

Sarkar stopped the two and slapped a fine of Rs 100 on them for not wearing helmets. One of the youth gave him an invalid note of Rs 500.

The traffic sergeant refused to take the invalid note, but the youth insisted him to take it.

The situation turned worse when an altercation broke out between them.

The two started passing abusive comments at the traffic sergeant saying that he didn’t need to give the change.

The sergeant protested against the comments passed against him and asked them to behave decently.

Sarkar was not ready to let them go from the place without paying the fine.

One of the two accused pushed Sarkar while another called some of his friends. They manhandled the sergeant.

Sarkar later lodged a complaint with Tollygunj police station and one person was arrested.

Traffic sergeants and constables were manhandled earlier too when they had stopped bikers in inebriated state or for reckless driving.

This is, however, the first time when a traffic sergeant has been manhandled in the city for not taking invalid Rs 500 note.