It's cops Vs bikers
On our highways, police accuse biker groups of riding recklessly. Bikers claim they are being unfairly targeted.
Little did they know that their innocuous trip down the Medchal Highway would not only have them spending their Saturday afternoon at the police station, but that a local news channel would falsely accuse them of racing at midnight and of transporting drugs from Nizamabad.
Unwanted celebrities
“We were on our way back after having breakfast,” says Samuel Luther, 28, who works in Merchant Navy. “Since we were entering city limits, we were even more cautious of the way we were riding,” he adds.
As the group approached the police station they were stopped by cops. Software employee Ram Verma, 26, admits that this happens quite often and that he gets pulled over eight to 10 times in a month. “We are accused of reckless driving. But the cops never have proof to substantiate their stance. Despite wearing riding gears, we are fined, whereas people in the city not only ride without helmets but have three to four people sitting on one bike,” says Ram. Jonathan Johnson, 26, who works in the risk management sector, adds, “It happens so often that rather than arguing with the cops and getting late in reaching the destination, we pay the fine and get going.”
And that’s what they had hoped to do on Saturday morning as the group made their way to the police station at 9.30 am, where they surprisingly met five other bikers, who were also in for questioning. As the interrogation went on till 12.30 pm, the group realised, that this time things were quite out of control. And as their phones started to ring, they became aware that they were being telecast on TV with charges they had not committed. “The cops had raided some gambling dens and there were also few groups that were accused of midnight racing in the Medchal area. But our faces were splashed across the TV instead,” says Jonathan.
‘Just doing our job’
The cops deny accusing them for drug possession or midnight racing, but they do admit the bikers were booked for driving recklessly. “It happens every weekend, the bikers are seen riding on the Medchal highway recklessly. I personally saw this particular group speeding across the highway,” says sub-inspector Rajasekhar. Even though there was no official proof of them driving in such a manner, the sub-inspector maintains there were eyewitnesses.
Need awareness about biking culture
Even though the matter is far from being resolved, other bikers have come forward to share their experiences. “Once I was returning from a 600-km trip on my motorcycle,” says a city-based rider who goes by the name ‘The HeartBrokenBiker’ on YouTube. “My touring bag was strip searched and I was made to sit at the police station from 11 am to 3 pm because I asked the cop for the proof,” he says. In his viral video Do cops hate people who wear helmets?, he documents how often bikers who ride around on sports bikes, despite wearing safety gear, are stopped by cops.
Rahool Saxena, member of the Wanderers, Bulleteers of Hyderabad, adds: “When you have a saddlebag on your bike, a proper helmet and riding gear, you aren’t a stunt rider but a rider who chooses a different and safe way to commute.”