Hassan Traffic Police allegedly took a daily wage worker and his mother into custody for passing an angry remark while paying a penalty on Thursday.
Shivakumar of Teranya village in Holenarsipur taluk was on his bike with his mother to attend a funeral at Vatehole in Alur taluk, when the traffic police stopped him at Basavanna Circle on B.M.Road. After checking the records, the police found that Shivakumar had not renewed his vehicle's insurance certificate. Traffic PSI Manjula slapped a fine of ₹1,000. Shivakumar had only ₹ 150 in his pockets. For Shivakumar, ₹ 1,000 is a big amount and he had to work a week to earn that much money.
Shivakumar and his mother requested the police to take the amount they had and let them go as it was getting late for the funeral. However, the police did not relent. The police asked him to get the amount transferred from someone. He got the money transferred from his employer to a cashier in a nearby hotel and paid the amount.
While paying the fine, Shivakumar passed a comment criticising the police for collecting heavy penalties from poor people. This angered the Traffic PSI and the driver of her vehicle Krishna. Shivakumar was allegedly beaten up at the spot. The police seized his vehicle and took both him and his mother to the police station. They were let off only in the evening.
This incident has gone viral on social media, prompting the public to criticise the police for their conduct. Hassan SP R. Srinivasa Gowda, on Friday, said he had directed Hassan DySP to conduct a probe into the allegations against the police and submit a report.
