7.19am, Tuesday: A police car with a beacon speeds down Lord Sinha Road towards AJC Bose Road, in violation of the one-way rule that prohibits vehicles from taking that route between 7am and 1pm. The no-entry sign saying 1pm-10pm signifies the traffic turning in the afternoon, barring vehicles from entering Lord Sinha Road from AJC Bose Road

Calcutta police have turned their latest road rules campaign into one-way traffic — the common man can’t violate the law but the cop can.

As Lalbazar swung into Road Safety Week mode, Metro kept vigil on a stretch of Lord Sinha Road that houses three security units and two schools.

The vigil on Tuesday morning revealed that the police are the main offenders on that stretch, which includes the offices of the Special Branch and the Intelligence Bureau along with the regional headquarters of the BSF.

No entry

From 7am till 1pm, vehicles are required to enter the 700-metre stretch from AJC Bose Road and exit through Shakespeare Sarani. The pattern is reversed after 1pm.

But these rules do not seem to apply to the police. Metro spotted several police vehicles plying on that road in the “opposite” direction.

According to a traffic constable, around 300 police and BSF vehicles ply on that stretch daily and most of them violate the one-way norm. “How can we stop police and BSF vehicles (from breaking traffic rules)?” demanded the constable, after saluting a senior officer whose vehicle violated the one-way rule and hit the AJC Bose Road crossing.

The deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Dilip Bandopadhyay, claimed that all vehicles violating traffic rules were equal in the eyes of the law. “I have asked my officers to book police vehicles violating the no-entry norm without fear or favour. Rules are for all, and the penalty (for breaking the one-way rule) is Rs 100,” said Bandopadhyay.

We wait for Calcutta police to walk the talk.

7.22am, Tuesday: Two police vans are parked facing each other on Lord Sinha Road despite that stretch being a no-parking zone. Pictures by SanjoyChattopadhyaya

No parking

Lord Sinha Road does not lack no-parking signs but it could do with parking discipline, especially from those who are supposed to enforce the rules.

Police vehicles, including prison vans and patrol Gypsies, were parked on both sides of the road on Tuesday. Commuters using that route during rush hour said parked vehicles narrowing the carriageway was a serious problem.

Deputy commissioner Bandopadhyay claimed parking was legal for a fixed number of vehicles, though he didn’t seem to be sure. “As far as I remember, there is provision for parking a few vehicles on one side of the road. But I will ask my officials to check.”

The website of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation doesn’t mention that stretch of Lord Sinha Road as a parking zone.

Motorists, especially guardians of children studying in the schools along the stretch, complained that constables and sergeants on duty wouldn’t allow them to halt there for a minute but did nothing about the police vehicles parked from morning till afternoon.

“Why don’t they ever penalise the police vehicles parked on the road causing snarls during peak hours?” asked Rajesh Sharma, whose 11-year-old daughter studies at Shri Shikshayatan School.