Traffic constable suspended for towing away car with woman, baby inside

Screengrab from a video in which a car with a woman and her baby being towed by a Mumbai traffic constable (right).

A traffic police constable was suspended after a video of him towing away a vehicle in Malad in which a woman and her baby were seated went viral on Saturday. The incident took place on SV Road in Malad west on Friday and was shot on a cellphone by a bystander. The two-minute video shows a woman feeding her young child in a car even as it is towed by a towing vehicle with constable Shashank Rane seated in the front.

The person shooting the video repeatedly yells at Rane to stop towing the car as it still has passengers in the back seat. At one point, the man shooting the video asks Rane if he will assume responsibility if something happens to the child. Rane is seen largely ignoring the man even as the camera is thrust in his face several times. Towards the end of the video, the woman accuses Rane of deliberately towing her car even though two other cars were parked illegally ahead of hers.

After the video was published on social media websites on Saturday, Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), issued a statement that an inquiry had been ordered and that the incident will be dealt with “appropriately and sternly” once a report is submitted on Sunday.

“It has prima facie been noticed that the safety of a woman and child was endangered in the said incident. Hence, pending inquiry, the constable is being placed under suspension. A decision about departmental action shall be taken after the inquiry report is received,” he added in his statement.