Focus was elicited once again on the principle of the law being equal for all here on Tuesday. The car of former Cabinet Minister and acting president of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) Diwakar Bhatt was towed away by traffic police from the gates of UKD office, in front of which it was parked on the road.
When the UKD members and supporters learned about this, they started sloganeering against the traffic department, accusing district police of biased action.
Their protest on the road resulted in a traffic jam creating a nuisance for both the public and police especially as the office complex of the senior superintendent of police is just across the road from the UKD office. Only after the Circle Officer (city) Shekhar Suyal assured that the car would be returned, did the protesting UKD members calm down.
According to UKD's city president Sunil Dhyani, “It was the car of a party member which Bhatt borrowed from Haridwar in order to attend a meeting at the party office here on Tuesday.
The traffic police without informing beforehand towed this car and took it to the office of SP traffic. After getting assurance from CO Suyal we cleared the path for the traffic to pass on."Explaining the main problem behind traffic congestion and parking problem there he said, “It is basically the few taxis that are parked there which create problem for us. These taxis are supposed to be parked at Mussoorie taxi stand near Inamullah building.
However few of the taxi drivers park their vehicles here, consume intoxicants and gamble here. Because of them we don't get enough space for parking which naturally results in traffic congestion quite often." He added, “We have complained about it in the office of traffic police many a time but no concrete action was taken ever, because of which these drivers have started to do their deeds in the open.”
During the traffic jam situation, members of the party were heard saying that the car wouldn't have been towed if it was carrying a flag of the party. This remark made bystanders comment that the car was towed because the police thought it belonged to someone non-political, a common man.
However, senior police officers on the condition of anonymity said that they took the decision of returning the car without any penalty because they have to take every decision keeping in mind the immediate effect it will have on law and order in the city.