Locals support traffic cop in towing row

Mumbai: A day after a traffic police constable was suspended after he allegedly towed a car with a woman sitting inside it and breastfeeding her infant child on SV Road in Malad on Friday, locals who witnessed the incident have said the woman deliberately sat inside the car when it was being prepared for towing.

Shashank Rane, the constable, was placed under suspension after a video of the incident went viral.

The owner of a pan bidi shop that is located at the spot where the incident happened, said, “We were doing our work when I saw that woman run towards the car and sit in it. She was yelling at the traffic cop and was saying that there were other cars also parked there and so they should be towed instead of hers.”

The shop owner, who did not want to be named, added, “The constable explained to her for a few minutes but later when she said she was not going to get out of the car, the police started towing the car, while the woman’s husband gave her the child and closed the door.” The police has recorded the pan shop owner’s statement to probe the incident.

Another eyewitness, wine shop owner Bharat Soni, said, “I was watching the scene… suddenly this woman sat in the car and started arguing. The police asked them to come to the police station and complete the formalities, but she was not ready to get out of the car, and then took her child inside.” He added, “She came here to shop, not breastfeed the child.”

Amitesh Kumar, joint commissioner of police traffic, said, “It has been prima facie noticed that the safety of the woman and the child was endangered in the said incident. We are doing our inquiry, soon we will take further decisions.”

Despite attempts, the woman or her husband could not be reached for their comment.  

According to the police, her husband had uploaded the video on social media, after which it went viral. The incident was soon reported to higher authorities, who suspended Rane with immediate effect.