13 October,2018 10:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
Swami Natraj Singh
Mumbai's traffic woes are getting worse by the day, and sometimes, even the cops are at a loss trying to handle it. In yet another example of how this choc-a-bloc city can land people in trouble, the chief security officer of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) has been booked for arguing and getting into a brawl with a police inspector of the Tardeo traffic division, after he refused to close a gate of the club to ease traffic movement on the Haji Ali Road. The Tardeo police have registered an FIR against him.
Tweets, complaints pour in
According to the police, around 3.30 pm on Wednesday, after an exhibition at NSCI got over the gate for members was opened up for them to leave. As cars started pulling out, the traffic on Haji Ali Road slowly came to a standstill and the congestion extended up to the Worli Naka (almost 2 km from the club). Many who were stuck in the traffic started tweeting about the situation and some of them even called up the traffic control room. Soon after, the Tardeo traffic division was asked to clear the congestion at the earliest.
As club members started leaving after attending an exhibition, traffic got held up on the Haji Ali Road. File Pic
When Balasaheb Chavhanke, police inspector of Tardeo traffic division, rushed to the spot and asked the club's security officials to close the gate for a while so that they could release the traffic, his order was followed. But, soon after, when the members asked them to open the gate, the security officials did accordingly. This worsened the situation.
When Chavhanke asked Chief Security Officer, Swami Natraj Singh, why he allowed them to open the gate, a tiff broke out between the two. A police officer said, "Singh not only argued with the inspector, but he also tried to manhandle him. The security personnel stopped him from doing so. This went on while the members' vehicles were leaving the club."
After the inspector narrated the incident to Joint Commissioner (Traffic), Amitesh Kumar, he was asked to file a complaint against Singh. An FIR was registered against him under section 353 of IPC on Thursday night, but till Friday he was not arrested.
A misunderstanding
However, speaking to mid-day, Singh said, "The entire thing happened because of a misunderstanding. I didn't try to assault the cop. I will co-operate with the police in the investigation." Even after repeated attempts to contact Abhinash Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (zone 3), he remained unavailable.
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