Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia found himself on the wrong side of traffic laws after the driver of his official vehicle was recently fined for over-speeding, after a chase that lasted over two kilometres.
Mr. Sisodia was reportedly seated in the back seat of his official Toyota Innova with another passenger. The Traffic police said the fine of Rs. 400 was imposed and collected from his driver Mukesh Kumar “without much trouble”.
However, a traffic policeman had to chase the car for over two kilometres as the driver did not stop when he was flagged down by some officials. The incident took place in East Delhi’s Khajuri Khas around 5 pm on June 12 when Mr. Sisodia was on his way to attend a function. Police sources said an interceptor was placed at the Khajuri Khas Chowk as part of a routine check on over-speeding vehicles.
The interceptor detected the minister’s car zooming past at a speed beyond the permissible limit on that stretch. A group of traffic policemen signalled the car to stop, but the driver slowed briefly before accelerating again.
“The traffic policemen alerted their colleagues who were stationed ahead. A constable, Sachin, pursued the car while two zonal officers followed in a gypsy,” said an officer.
The traffic policemen finally managed to bring the car to a halt near the Wazirabad bridge.
Sources said that during the chase, the constable made three failed attempts to signal the car (DL 10 CA 0017) to stop before finally intercepting it.
Traffic policemen claimed that the personnel chasing the vehicle did not know it was occupied by the minister. “Even if they knew, it would not deter them from fining any offender as it is part of their duty,” said the officer.
