BENGALURU: Madivala traffic police on Wednesday afternoon played the good cop, literally, and came to the rescue of two little schoolchildren who were being driven rashly by a drunk auto driver. Moreover, after they secured the little kids, they spent time with them, entertaining them with stories and chocolates, while waiting for their respective parents to arrive to pick them up.
The children are in UKG
The drunk auto driver, Umesh, 27, was booked for drink driving, not wearing his uniform, not carrying his driver’s licence and driving rashly under influence of alcohol — piling up a fine amount of Rs 14,000.
Madivala Traffic Police Sub-inspector Jayaramu T D and Head Constable Sridhar Kugatoli were regulating traffic at Bommanahalli Junction at around 12.50 pm when two motorists came and alerted them about an auto being driven rashly with two little schoolchildren in it.
The two policemen immediately started looking out for the autorickshaw which they were told would pass the junction in a few minutes. Soon they spotted it as it sped past them. Jumping on to their two-wheeler, the two cops chased the auto and forced the driver to stop.
When they asked the driver Umesh why he was driving in such a rash manner with two little kids seated behind, they smelt alcohol on his breath when he started replying. They immediately seized the autorickshaw.
“Umesh said he had picked up the children from Lawrence High School in HSR Layout. But while he was talking, we could smell alcohol on his breath. I checked him with the alcometer and it showed his consumption well above permissible limits. Umesh was also not wearing uniform and when we asked him to show the driver’s licence, he did not have it. We then booked a case against him for the various offences and imposed the fine,” said Jayaramu.
That done, the two policemen were faced with another problem:What to do with the two little children?
They asked the children to get out of the autorickshaw and sat them safely on the footpath. They then took their school diaries, got their respective parents’ phone numbers and called to inform them about the incident.
“We told them we would either drop them to school directly or to their respective homes. But both the children’s parents said they would pick them up,” said Jayaramu.
As the two children waited for the parents, the two cops comforted them.
The parents reached the spot to find the kids smiling in the company of the two cops. “I’m so thankful to the policemen. I used to have a poor opinion of the traffic police for not managing the traffic well, but I was wrong. They have saved our kids today,” said a visibly relieved parent who did not wish to be named.