Bengaluru: ACP Saleem cleans up force

BENGALURU: Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem is on a major drive to clean up the force and has suspended 16 traffic policemen since he took over on April 29 this year.

The senior officer has gathered credible information and inquiry reports before acting on the errant policemen, who were either involved in corruption or found to be lax at work. Of the suspended policemen, one is a police inspector, six are assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs), three head constables and six police constables from 12 traffic police stations.  Seven of them are from the west division, while five are from the east traffic police division.

While a few of them were suspended for dereliction of duty, majority of them were found to be involved in corruption, Mr. Saleem told Deccan Chronicle. “While we can be a little lenient towards mistakes and dereliction of duty by our men, we cannot tolerate corruption in the department. It’s zero tolerance to that menace,” he said.

The deviations ranged from a senior police officer colluding with an accused and arresting his driver, instead of the wrongdoer, in Chikkajala, to a police constable collecting Rs 10 from every auto driver for allowing them to park and pick commuters under the Central traffic police station limits.

A 38-year-old constable from Byatarayanapura traffic police station was suspended for misbehaving with his seniors. He was given two notices and warnings to change his behaviour, but he continued to skip work and even when he arrived at the station, he was drunk. An assistant sub-inspector attached to the High Grounds traffic police station was suspended after he sought a bribe from a bike rider for parking in a no-parking zone.

The bike rider, who had video taped the entire incident, had sent it to a senior police officer. The DCP concerned not only suspended the cop, but also cancelled the contract of the towing vehicle, Tiger, after the truck owner approached the senior officer to lobby for the ASI.