Biker killed soon after being given lessons by cops

Thursday, July 29, 2010


For Saket Khan (15) and two friends, Tuesday night — when the festival of Shab-e-Barat was being celebrated — was the occasion for a joyride on a bike across central Delhi. Hundreds of youth were similarly out on the streets, mostly on two-wheelers. The three boys were caught by cops and reprimanded for the way they were driving and for not wearing helmets. They were given leaflets on road safety and finally allowed to go.

They drove towards Majnu Ka Tila in north Delhi, apparently to get fuel, when on a flyover near the Tibetan colony, they were hit by an unidentified vehicle around 3.15am. Saket was rushed to LNJP Hospital where he was declared brought dead while the other two suffered injuries.

Saket's father, Rahees Ahmed (55), stays in east Delhi's New Ashok Nagar and has a big family. He runs a shoe shop in Sadar Bazaar. He was in a state of shock and couldn't comment on the incident.

When this reporter tried to contact senior traffic police officers on Wednesday, they said they would need to check facts and only then would they comment. However, they added that some challans were being issued to some numbers that were jotted down.

This comes close on the heels of another group of bikers performing stunts and harassing people in the Connaught Place area just a few days back. Why the cops don't crack down on such brazen violation of traffic rules, which could save some lives, is a mystery. Giving lessons on how to drive safely at midnight to hordes of violators makes a mockery of the law.

On Tuesday night, the bikers had a free run of south, central and north Delhi, primarily putting their own lives at risk. Almost all the bikes had three to four riders who were not wearing helmets though no stunts or violence of any kind was reported.

The cops pleaded they were helpless. "What can you do when the main focus for us is tackling terror?" said a central district officer. Joint commissioner (New Delhi Range) Dharmendra Kumar said they had stopped a few riders and "given them lessons in safe driving. There was overloading and some noise as they moved together. However, we ensured that they did not indulge in stunts," he said.

Original news source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Biker-killed-soon-after-being-given-lessons-by-cops/articleshow/6230816.cms