Short on guns,traffic cops will brandish batons soon

Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh and Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vivek Phansalkar have decided to provide them with batons to deal with irate motorists.

According to Singh,the decision was taken given the rising number of assaults on traffic police officers. “We do not have sufficient guns and moreover,guns cannot be used in every situation. To tackle irate motorists,we have decided to provide them with batons,” said Singh.

On June 2 last year,more than 50 policemen had been given .38 bore pistols so that they are prepared to retaliate in any emergency,be it tackling irate motorists or fighting terrorists. This figure had risen to 189 last December.

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This move was taken after senior traffic police officers claimed that before the constables were given weapons,at least one traffic policeman was assaulted in a week. However,after being given the weapons there have been no assaults on traffic constables.

Phansalkar had said traffic constables were given pistols as they are constantly on the road and often bear the burnt of errant drivers and suffer injuries in road rages.

Although these weapons were not meant to threaten motorists,they acted as a deterrent against assault,officers had claimed.

Apart from their own protection,the weapons were also provided to the constables in view of the post-26/11 technological upgrade exercise.