Hyderabad: An incident of alleged violence by city traffic police personnel against cab drivers over the issue of parking surfaced on social media on Friday evening.
The incident which took place around 12.30 pm near the Mindspace area on Friday re triggered a debate on police violence and lack of enough parking spaces in Hyderabad.
A video of a verbal tussle between one of the cab drivers and traffic policemen was posted by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) on Friday and sought an investigation into the matter.
Speaking to Siasat.com, Bharat Kumar, the cab driver and admin of Amma Samstha, a drivers collective who is seen arguing in the video with the policemen, alleged that a traffic cop indulged in violence against him and cab driver Naresh for questioning ‘arbitrary actions’ of the constable.
Bharat stated that he along with another driver received a call from Naresh after the constable snatched away his car keys for stopping his cab on the side of the road while waiting for a customer.
In the video, Bharat can be seen telling one of the traffic cops that violence is unacceptable. It can also be seen that the cops tried to block the drivers from taking the video.
Bharat said that Naresh was taken to the Madhapur Police Station after the incident and was put behind bars. He said that Naresh was released late in the evening only after Amma Samstha union president Vinay Bhushan along with 150 drivers knocked on the doors of the Commissioner of Police and then the ACP office.
After online furore over the video, the Twitter handle of the Cyberabad Traffic Police responded by stating that a concerned officer will look into the matter.
Siasat.com contacted Madhapur Police Station over the incident. Ramaiah, a head constable, said that the tussle happened due to a heated verbal exchange and both the parties have reached a compromise. “No case has been registered,” he said.
