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Bus driver blames police incompetence for his arrest

Sep 27, 2013 News

 

A Route 47 mini bus driver is blaming the “incompetence of the police” for his discomfort of having to spend the night in the cramped lock-ups at the Prashad Nagar Outpost.
The driver, who for obvious fear of victimization asked that his name not be published, was locked up on an ‘outstanding warrant’ despite his matter being completed in the court.
He is of the view that had the police ranks who detained him checked their system, his embarrassment and discomfort could have been avoided. Additionally, he is urging that the police upgrade their system to ensure that persons who are in a similar position to him do not suffer unnecessarily.
“The police have to get their priorities right. They can’t pick up people just so and put dem in the lock-ups with all kinda people who got cough and so. Suppose I get infected,” he said.
His troubles started on Wednesday at around 17:00 hours, when a party of police ranks launched a campaign to rein in errant minibus operators.
According to reports, about 15 persons were found to be delinquent.
The driver who spoke to this newspaper related that the ranks told him that an arrest warrant was in force for him on a traffic charge in January of this year.
But he protested that he had subsequently attended court for that matter on several occasions and the matter was dismissed because the rank who had instituted the charge failed to show up to give his evidence.
However, for some strange reason the arrest warrant was never recalled.
“I keep telling them that the matter had been dismissed but they would not listen. They tell me they have to check with the court the following day.”
That meant that the driver would have to remain in custody overnight until the police verify their own information, since they were dealing with an arrest warrant.
What is still baffling the driver is the fact that all the time he has been openly operating his minibus every day, dealing with the same police that arrested him on Wednesday, yet he was never arrested on the warrant.
“I spent the night in a six by six cell with eight other persons. They let out two persons at about two o’clock and tek in three more. Some of the people I was in there with were for murder and robbery under arms,” the driver lamented.
At about 06:00 hours, he was taken from the Prashad Nagar lock-ups and taken back to the Brickdam Police Station where he spent the next two hours waiting for the police to verify that his court matter had been dismissed.
Eventually, after checking their records, the police were able to verify that the minibus driver was indeed a free man.
“My warrant was issued in January and my matter finished in June but the warrant was never recalled,” the driver said.
He said that the police eventually released all the persons they had detained the day before, without charge.
“They did not even give an apology. The police tell we that they could go to anybody and lock dem up for 72 hours,” the minibus driver stated.

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