Fight between the two brings traffic to a halt

In probably the first case of its kind, a bus driver with the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Maha-mandal Limited (PMPML) and a traffic constable, who allegedly came to blows and stopped traffic at Seven Luck Chowk for half an hour on Tuesday, have filed police complaints blaming each other for the incident.

Traffic constable Vijay Singh Rathod stated in his police complaint that he was riding his bike behind a car and the PMPML bus, driven by Vasudev Sitaram Dayefele, was just behind him. When the green signal turned red, the car and Rathod braked, the bus did not. It hit him and he fell on the car, but the bus moved on. "I fractured my leg. I stopped the bus and Dayefele started the argument by calling me names," he said.

Rathod also said that the PMPML union leader Rajendra Khadare demanded an apology for the accident from the traffic police commissioner.

Sanjay Rajeram Ulashkar, head of PMPML's accident department said, "When the green signal suddenly turned red, the constable banged the car. But he stopped the bus and beat up the innocent driver, saying Dayefele was the reason he banged the car. Dayefele's nose is broken." Manoj Patil, DCP, Traffic Division said, "I have asked the ACP to submit a thorough report in two days' time."