Reacting to the complaint of a retired army major, alleging that traffic policemen misbehaved with him and his family during a weekend drink-driving check in Gurugram, the Gurugram Traffic Police clarified on Tuesday.
DCP traffic Prateek Gehlot said the investigation so far revealed no evidence indicating any form of misconduct or misbehaviour by Gurugram Traffic Police officers toward retired Major Hemendra Singh or his family members.
He added that an inquiry is being conducted under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic Headquarters & Highway) Satpal Yadav regarding allegations that traffic police personnel in Gurugram misbehaved with a driver and issued an incorrect challan around 12:00 midnight on June 6.
“According to the preliminary findings of the investigation, the body-worn camera footage recorded by the traffic zonal officer during the alcohol-checking operation was reviewed. Based on this review, it was found that the driver was issued a challan under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act because the alcohol sensor reading was 91. Furthermore, no evidence was found indicating any form of misconduct or misbehavior by Gurugram Traffic Police,” added DCP Gehlot.
During a press conference, the DCP stated that the Police Commissioner, Gurugram, has already prepared a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for alcohol checking.
In compliance with the SOP, alcohol-checking drives are conducted every week on roads where incidents of excessive drinking and driving are more common, specifically on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 pm to 1 am.
During these checking drives, the zonal officer must wear a body-worn camera in accordance with the SOP guidelines.
This ensures transparency in the challan process and records every activity during the checking procedure. Additionally, a new pipe/mouthpiece is used on the alcohol sensor device for every individual driver tested.
“The matter is being further investigated by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic East) Manjeet Singh,” the DCP added.
According to a complaint sent to the Police Commissioner, retired Major Hemendra Singh said on Sunday night, he, his wife and two young daughters were returning to their society after dinner on Cyber City Golf Course Road.
While leaving CyberCity, a police team stopped them. During the inspection, the police officer, flouting medical protocols, placed the alcohol-checking device (breathalyser) he had previously used on another driver directly into the Major’s mouth without changing the straw or nozzle.
The initial reading was 91 mg/100 ml, well above the permissible limit. Immediately, the traffic officer became abusive and started issuing a challan.
He added in the complaint that when he protested this incorrect reading and demanded a fair re-test with a new and clean straw, the senior officer on duty became enraged. He alleged that the police officer threatened him in a highly offensive tone, saying, “I will take out your officerism".
“However, when re-pressurised and retested twice with a new nozzle, the truth came out. Both times, the alcohol reading was only 13 mg/100 ml, which was completely within the legally normal and safe limit. After this, he called the emergency helpline number 112 and reported the police officers’ actions. Upon learning of this, the traffic police officers conducting the check fled the scene with their vehicle,” the Major added in his complaint.
