How often have you used dipper in broad daylight or motioned fellow motorists warning them against police checking ahead without thinking of the consequences of such action?
A video posted on Facebook by a traffic cop from Malappuram on the dangers such misplaced show of bonhomie among strangers on road pose to law enforcement agencies has gone viral, attracting close to two lakh views in three days.
Bitter results
Philip Mampad, a senior civil police officer attached to Malappuram traffic control unit, who posted the video said the practice was prevalent more in the Malabar region compared to other parts of the State.
“Just drive around Malappuram without helmets or using a mobile phone or without wearing seatbelts during the day, there will be someone signalling you about police checking going on nearby. They will even shout this out to fellow motorists.
Among those giving the police the slip will be those shipping drugs, weapons and forest produce; there could even be abductors,” said Mr. Mampad, who along with his friend Mahesh Chitravarnam, a KSEB official, has conducted 1,073 drug awareness classes and freed 452 people from the hold of drugs during the last nine years.
Drawing on his vehicle checking experience, he said a majority of illegal activities took place in broad daylight and that the needless bonhomie among motorists intended at averting the payment of a petty fine could inadvertently help serious offenders.
Amrut Rangan, now sub inspector of Infopark Police, backed the claim, citing a major drive against drugs that he had conducted in Malappuram in 2017. The drive, lasting over months, led to the arrest of 121 persons. “When questioned about the movement of drugs, they said it was done mostly during daytime to avoid detection. It is those engaged in such grievous crimes who escape the law because people do not think twice about an action they can easily avoid,” he said.
