Indian Express, January 9, 2001
Cops' tally -- Hits, misses, an own-goal
AJMER SINGH
CHANDIGARH, JAN 8: The special police drive against traffic offenders netted a prize catch today, and in grandstand manner. With a large crowd looking on, the police stopped the car of Chaudhury Dharam Vir Singh, Additional Political Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, at the Sector 26 Madhya Marg roundabout this morning. What followed next was a classic case of VIP high-handedness.
The car, number HR-03-F-0019 was stopped for a routine check by head constable Ram Niwas; the car had a red light and the policeman couldn't see the sticker required to be displayed on the windshield. According to the policeman, Dharam Vir threatened and abused him when asked for the car papers. ``Hum kagaz nahin dikhatey, toon chalan kar ke dikha'" (I do not show papers to anyone, you can challan me).
The policeman then noticed the torn sticker, and asked the driver, Suresh Kumar, for his licence. He didn't have one. In an action few others in his position would have contemplated, Ram Niwas wrote out a challan for the driver not possessing a valid licence and for ``misbehaviour by backseat passenger''.
By then, ASP (East) Sagar Preet Hooda had arrived on the scene and another heated argument broke out. That's when this correspondent reached the spot; it was then 11-40 a.m., and a crowd had gathered at the spot.
Dharam Vir, who was refusing to sign the challan, was also in full flow by then. ``Tum jaisey kayi police officers hamari kothi par aatey hain, main tumhare IGP se baat karoonga, ke tumarey aadmi ney mere saath badtamizi kee hai'' (A number of police officers come to my place, I will complain to the IGP about your misbehaviour), he said.
This prompted SHO Baljit Singh to tell Dharam Vir: ``Saari galti aap ki hai'' (It`s all your fault). And the ASP said: ``Arguing like this doesn`t look nice for a person of your stature''.
When the argument was going on, this correspondent asked Dharam Vir about the incident. He said, ``Aaap jo bhi chhap do main sab contradict karoonga.'' The situation took an interesting turn when Dharam Vir turned to a passerby, Shankar, for support. It backfired on him. Shankar said: ``Yeh Hindustan kaisey chalega, agar neta log police ko kaam karne se rokengey, yah saari galti neta ji ki hai.''
Eventually, the driver signed the challan and the car drove off. Later, when this reporter contacted Dharam Vir, he said it was started by the policeman, who began arguing with his driver. He denied threatening anyone. ,``I told the DSP that if you harass VIPs like us, what is the fate of the ordinary people?''
However, when told that this correspondent was witness to part of the incident, Dharam Vir said it should not be reported. And, on a positive note, SP (Traffic) Balbir Singh said HC Ram Niwas would be rewarded for showing courage.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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