A BMW car and a fire brigade vehicle on Saturday night collided at Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk in Jalandhar. Following the collision, a team of police reached to the spot. However, after the accident, a fire brigade employee accused the in-charge of Police Station Division No. 4 of acting in a biased manner during the handling of the matter.
As a result, an argument broke out between the fire brigade employee and a woman cop at the spot. People present nearby started recording video of the argument. The woman in the video said that following the procedure she asked for the license of drivers of both the vehicles.
However, the fire brigade refused to hand over his license.
According to information received, the fire brigade employee alleged that the BMW driver rammed into the parked fire brigade vehicle and later claimed to be close to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal. He further claimed that the car driver verbally abused him and called the police, following which the dispute intensified.
Fire brigade officer Rajinder Kumar Sahota said that the fire brigade vehicle had been deployed near Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk as part of safety arrangements for the Shobha Yatra of Sri Ravidas Ji passing through the city.
Sahota alleged that the BMW car, driven at high speed, hit the parked fire brigade vehicle. Sahota claimed that instead of admitting his fault, the car driver started accusing the fire brigade staff and repeatedly mentioned his political connections.
Sahota further alleged that after receiving the complaint, Division No. 4 police in-charge Anu Palyal reached the spot and, without properly hearing their side, blamed the fire brigade personnel and pressured them to go to the police station.
On the other hand, SHO Anu Palyal said that the police received information about an accident at Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk, following which she reached the spot with her team.
She said both parties were asked to produce their driving licences. While the car driver produced his licence, the fire brigade employee refused to do so. As part of the investigation, both parties were asked to come to the police station, she added.
The SHO denied allegations of bias and said the police acted as per procedure to investigate the incident.
