Cover-free cops go scot-free?

CHENNAI: If you’ve ever coughed up a fine for not wearing a helmet, then this is one sight that’s bound to bother you: policemen in all their splendor on their fancy patrol bikes, siren et al, racing around without a helmet. Except when they draw up to the patrol cavalcade that happily fined you for doing the same, there are friendly smiles all around accompanied by some happy banter. “I hate it!,” says Sowmya Natarajan, a college professor who is particular about helmets. She continues “They are supposed to uphold the law and yet, they have no regard for it.”While all CCTP cops who are on motorcycle patrol have been provided with sparkling white helmets, their reasons for not using them are slightly more professional.A police officer who has been riding patrol rounds for over a decade says, “We have to stop and reprimand people at every turn and it’s not easy to do that when you have to remove and put on a helmet each time,” he adds, “In our defence, we drive very slowly and obey every other traffic rule, so there’s little danger.And what about the non-traffic cops who journey around the city for administrative work, keeping the law and order in place? “We need to be alert to what is happening around us all the time. When we wear a helmet, our hearing is reduced as is our vision. We cannot take a chance with your lives,” says a police official from Kilpauk solemnly.Sanjay Arora admits that their department isn’t perfect. “We are a part of society, as well. Whatever is wrong with the society is also a problem that we have. But we (CCTP) are looking inward and through circulars and regular orders, attempting to ensure that some of our errant colleagues obey the rules,” he says.But there’s recourse, here, as well. “Whenever people upload photos on our Facebook page of policemen without helmets, we fine them immediately,” he adds.