A sergeant takes up position to extort ?road tax? from defiant drivers

Off Fort William,
Gate no. 4, June 20, noon

A sergeant (also seen supervising the ?raid? in Hastings on Saturday, the pictures of which appeared in Metro on Tuesday) has taken up position off Fort William gate number 4.

A traffic constable stretches out his long arm ? not to uphold the law, but to make a killing. Pictures by Amit Datta

A traffic constable gets busy flagging down passing commercial vehicles. When the vehicle comes to a halt, he slips his hand into the driver?s cabin. Once safe passage has been ?bought?, the wheels roll on. Drivers who refuse to grease the palm of the constable are shepherded to the sergeant for ?verification of documents? and hefty ?road? tax.

Time-table

The give-and-go game between cops and truckers

Ironically, the schedule for joint raids to book illegal vehicles and errant drivers is drawn up by the deputy commissioner of police (headquarters) in Lalbazar. Officers from the traffic guard and the local police station team up ? for a cause. ?This is an organised racket,? said an officer.

Officialspeak

Police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee told Metro: ?Stern action is taken against any traffic sergeant found fleecing truck drivers. There are some (policemen) who indulge in such practices, but it does not mean that this is very organised. There are many policemen, especially traffic sergeants, who help people in distress.?