Caught without licence, Victoria rider speeds off with cop on board

A 30-year-old Victoria owner, on Saturday, took a constable on a high-speed ride, when the latter ordered him to accompany him to the police station to get his paperwork checked, Saurabh M Joshi reports.

A 30-year-old Victoria owner, on Saturday, took a constable on a high-speed ride, when the latter ordered him to accompany him to the police station to get his paperwork checked.

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The owner stopped the carriage only near Mantralaya and sped off as soon as the shaken constable alighted from the Victoria. The carriage owner was, however, arrested within hours.

The constable Vishal Suryavanshi was with his colleague and a volunteer of People for Animals, Chetan Sharma at Churchgate around 9.45pm.

They suddenly spotted two Victoria carriages near Eros cinema. On finding that the carriage owners were plying without licences, Suryavanshi boarded one of the carriages and told the rider – Algad Naidu alias Salman – to take it to the police station.

Naidu, however, raced the Victoria towards Rajani Patel Road and finally stopped it near YB Chavan auditorium near Mantralaya.

“As soon as the constable got off the carriage, Salman sped off. Suryavanshi then approached the police station and registered a complaint against him,” said an officer of Marine Drive police station.

Sharma said, “It all happened suddenly. We were very worried for the constable. But, we thank the police for helping save Mumbai’s horses.”

Maneka Gandhi, chairperson of People for Animals, said, “If these people can run away with policemen, what will happen to our volunteers who are trying to save animals daily? Everything from their carriages to their stables is illegal and has been going on for more than three decades. PETA veterinarians have shown how fitness certificates given to horses by the government departments are fake.”