A policeman in Uttarakhand’s Almora was slapped with a fine by traffic cops for using flashers and siren atop his personal car. Notably, using sirens and flashers atop vehicles has been banned all across India. Be it the President, Prime Minister, Chief Ministers or any high profile government official, no one is allowed to use sirens and flashers on top of their vehicles. However, there are many who flout the rule and among those are the police officials and government officials who flex their position in the administration and go scot-free.
According to a report, the police officer from Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun was in his personal Maruti Suzuki Dzire with 4-5 friends when he was fined. The group of friends was in Uttarakhand on a holiday and was using flashers and siren atop the private-registered vehicle. The Uttarakhand Police spotted the cop’s Maruti Suzuki Dzire and stopped it near the Almora city taxi stand. As soon as the vehicle was stopped by Uttarakhand Police, the driver of the vehicle came out and said he is a senior inspector from Badaun, Uttar Pradesh and he is in the city on holiday. A verbal spat broke between the Uttarakhand Traffic police and the senior Uttar Pradesh cop after which the City Patrol Unit (CPU) was called in.
The Senior Inspector in his defence said that they move around with a flasher mounted on their car in UP without any problem. However, the Uttarkhand Police stuck to their stance and said that it is illegal to do so. The CPU then imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the UP Police Senior Inspector.
In 2017, all sirens were banned for use in India, even for the VIPs. Many ministers protested against the decision. The Prime Minister of India’s official vehicle is also not allowed to have a siren atop the car. Only emergency vehicles including the official police vehicles, Army vehicles, ambulances and fire brigades are allowed to use the flashers and sirens.
