Cops beat driver for excessive honking

■ Hyderabad Football Club bus driver, cops spar over sound pollution

In an incident of brazen high-handedness, the traffic police on Wednesday severely thrashed the driver of a bus carrying the Hyderabad Football Club (HFC) of the Indian Super League.

HFC was returning from an evening match against North East United at Gachibowli stadium. The trouble happened at the signal near the Gachibowli traffic police station on DLF circle, where there was traffic congestion.

Police claim Raju, the driver, incessantly honked his air-horn, and this irritated the cops. They claimed that team officials on the bus did nothing to restrain the driver, and an argument ensued.

HFC tweeted its version: “The bus driver of the Hyderabad FC team was physically assaulted by the traffic police for reasons unknown. The driver was beaten by the cop in front of the entire team and dragged by police.”

The team included players from the Indian national team as well as 10 foreign nations. “We strongly condemn this incident which has left the players in a state of shock and stress, especially after a tough game,” HFC tweeted.

HFC sought an immediate enquiry.

“We are inquiring into the allegations that the driver was manhandled,” a policeman said.

The Cyberabad traffic police went on a social media offensive. “The facts are that the bus was interposed by Gachibowli traffic police at 10.28 pm for excessive horning and using a prohibited air-horn,” it posted. “This was part of enforcement against heavy vehicles at night in the IT corridor for road safety. The driver was asked for his driving license and other details. Instead, he kept arguing and caused traffic issues on the main road.”

Police said a case was registered for causing noise pollution, and stated that claims of manhandling were baseless.

“Hyderabad FC is advised to ask their transport agent to obey all the traffic rules and also remove the prohibited air-horn,” the Cyberabad traffic police said.