Those preaching law to be penalized first

VADODARA: Cops posted in the city will be the first to face the heat of traffic rules from Monday. City police commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut has decided to first crack down on the cops who are found flouting the rules and then focus on citizens. The traffic cops and staff in all the 21 police stations have already been briefed about the plan of action.
Amita Vanani, ACP (traffic), said, “We have been asked to first penalize the cops who are flouting traffic rules as it will set an example for all the citizens. Policemen not following the driving rules will have to pay fines as per the amended Motor Vehicles Act.” Three teams of policemen will be deployed at Police Bhavan that houses the office of commissioner of police, city police headquarters and police housing lines in Akota area on Monday morning.
For the policemen, the focus will be to penalize those who are not wearing helmets. “Also, we will remove vehicle stickers signifying the profession of cops. We will put black colour if someone has painted ‘police’ on the vehicle,” Vanani told TOI. For citizens, the initial focus will be on wrong side driving and talking on phone while driving.
“These two cause many accidents and so it has been decided to penalize commuters resorting to such dangerous driving. Our teams will also check all the documents of the vehicles,” Vanani added. A total of 15 teams from traffic police department, including 10 cops each will be posted at different spots to penalize erring commuters.
Another 21 teams from every police station will also be deployed in different areas for the penalty drive. “A videographer will accompany every team and if some commuter gets into a fight or tries to assault the cops, he or she will be booked,” she said.