Citizen reports assault of senior, but police refuse to take action
Bandra resident Vidyut Lokur, 32, said he tried his utmost to convince the police to take action after he witnessed a senior citizen get beaten up inside a car on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road on April 29, but he met with no success.
Bandra resident Vidyut Lokur, 32, said he tried his utmost to convince the police to take action after he witnessed a senior citizen get beaten up inside a car on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road on April 29, but he met with no success.
Lokur, a business development manager with an MNC in Powai, said he witnessed the assault around 8.45pm when he was driving home.
“I had stopped at Dutta Tekdi Chowk signal. There was a grey Eon ahead of my car and I saw an 85 to 90-year-old man in the back seat. I could see him getting beaten as the car was exactly ahead of mine and it was going slow because of traffic. Initially, I thought I was mistaken, but then I saw the passenger sitting next to the driver bang the elderly person’s head against the seat and beat him mercilessly,” he said.
Lokur called the police control room, but the person who answered the phone allegedly asked him to approach the traffic police and gave him the number. “I could not note it down as I was driving,” he said.
On reaching Hill Road in Bandra, Lokur went to Bandra police station.
“I approached a policeman who directed me to another policeman. The second policeman directed me to the third one, to whom I narrated the incident. He told me there was no point in telling them about it as it had happened 40 minutes ago, despite the fact that I gave him the vehicle’s registration number,” Lokur said.
When Lokur insisted upon action, they advised Lokur to send an email about the episode. “I asked them for the email address, then the Mumbai police’s web address, but they did not know it. By then, I was disillusioned and had lost faith in the police,” said Lokur.
Keshav Patil, DCP, operations, said: “I will conduct an inquiry. If any negligence is found, appropriate action will be initiated against the control room staff.”
Despite repeated attempts, the regional additional commissioner of police (west), zonal DCP and senior inspector of Bandra police station were unavailable for comment. Sadanand Date, joint commissioner of police (law and order), refused to comment saying he was on leave.