A 49-year-old helmetless driver in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district was punched and kicked death by civic police volunteers after he allegedly refused to pay bribe on Saturday.
Hindustan Times reported that the eyewitnesses told the police that Soumen Debnath was stopped by civic police volunteers at a busy intersection and sought bribe. When Debnath refused to pay, the volunteers kicked and punched him, leading to his death.
The incident comes at a time when the State Government is promoting its ‘Safe Drive Save Life’ initiative to ensure road safety and the police are enforcing helmet use. Following the incident, local people blocked the road for several hours demanding action against regular traffic police personnel as well as civic volunteers who receive a fixed monthly honorarium from the government.
“There was a scuffle between Mr. Debnath and some civic volunteers over violation of traffic rules. He was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead,” The Hindu reported quoting Superintendent of Police of North 24 Paraganas C. Sudhakar. "One person had been arrested so far and a case had been lodged under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC," he added.
The locals also alleged that the civic volunteers have been illegally demanding hefty sums of money from truck-drivers, auto-rickshaw drivers and two-wheeler riders for violating traffic rules, reported The Indian Express.
Supreme Court had made it mandatory to wear helmet while driving two-wheelers following the rise in the number of death cases in two-wheeler accidents in the country.
