Caught without helmet, rider says cops acted rough

MUMBAI:AFTER he was caught riding a bike without a helmet, a 21-year-old journalism student said the officers from Samta Nagar police station roughed him up at 7.30pm on Sunday.

The student, Mrunal Mathuria, also member of the Aam Aadmi Party’s youth wing and a resident of Thakur Complex said, “I had gone to fetch groceries and did not carry my helmet. I also forgot to carry my license. When the policemen caught me, I told them I stay in the area and that I could get my license but they did not listen to me and forcibly took away my bike keys.”

He said a police sub-inspector and the constables forcibly shoved him into a police van when he told them they could not take away his keys. He was charged for riding without a helmet and for not carrying a driving license.

Mathuria said that when he went for a medical examination, the doctor wrote ‘alcohol consumption’ on the report. When he asked the doctor why such a report was prepared even though he was not drunk, the doctor apparently told him to talk to the policemen about it.

“I will meet the zonal DCP to initiate action against the police officials and the doctor for his false report,” Mathuria told HT. MUMBAI: As Rameez Shaikh left his office for Friday prayers at the nearest mosque, he forgot to carry his wallet in the rush. He realised this while catching an auto-rickshaw but it was too late to turn back. Little did he know that what followed next would win his heart and change the way he perceived people.

In a Facebook post shared on August 26 that garnered over 8,000 shares, Shaikh described his experience with auto driver Shukla. “I requested him to drop me at the Masjid and wait till I pray (for 15-20 minutes) and drop me back; and that I will pay him more than the fare,”the post read.

“The auto guy (who was pasting a “Ganpati Utsav” sticker on his windshield as I entered his auto) told me: “Aap bhagwan ke kaam ke liye jaa rahe ho, aap tension matt le... mai chhodd deta hu aap ko... (You are going for a holy thing, do not be so tensed),” Shaikh said. He said the driver agreed to take him to the mosque but told him he could not wait.

“As he dropped me at the Masjid, he did something I never expected.” Shukla offered Shaikh money so he could get back to his workplace after praying.

“As he could not wait for me, he wanted to ensure that I got back conveniently. He sincerely told me not to feel embarrassed,” said Shaikh.

Touched by his gesture, he took to social media to tell people what he experienced.“ultimately I didn’t take the cash he offered. I noted his mobile number and paid him his fare later in that same evening though he never asked for the money,” he said.

He added that when he called Shukla to pay him, the auto driver modestly underplayed the whole incident. “I insisted, went over to him and paid him. He made it look like I did a great job but I didn’t feel that I repaid his gesture. That’s why I wrote the post,” he said.

“Could be a stereotype breaker for some... An ‘Auto-wala,’ ‘Ganpati bhakt’ with ‘Large red tilak on forehead’ going out of his way to make sure that a fellow human of another faith gets to pray to his deity in peace.” Shaikh has decided to take printouts of the comments on his post and share them with Shukla.

“We should all share positive experiences on social media. There’s too much hatred out here,” he wrote.