Visakhapatnam: Cops too fall prey to accidents

Visakhapatnam: Police personnel on duty seem to be deprived of safety. The recent accidents wherein some of the cops got injured have become a cause for concern. Most of the mishaps happened without the involvement of the police. They not only affected the family members of the victims but also the police officials. In a span of 10 days, three police officers were injured in different road accidents in Visakhapatnam.

Some time back, a lorry hit a two-wheeler being driven by crime SI Bhaskar at Srinagar junction. The SI sustained serious injuries on his legs. Initially, he was shifted to a private hospital in Gajuwaka and later to another hospital in the city for better treatment.

A week later, traffic CI Satyanarayana Reddy, who was on duty in Old Gajuwaka, was hit by an RTC bus knocking him down. The cops who were present at the time of the incident immediately rushed the CI to a nearby hospital.

Even before the two incidents faded away from one's memory, another accident injured a cop at Appannapalem near Vepagunta. CI Venku Naidu, who was on night duty, was injured while the parked vehicle he boarded was hit by a four-wheeler and pushed the police vehicle to the median of the road. In another incident, a police vehicle which was heading towards Visakhapatnam Airport from Srikakulam met with an accident.

In all these road accidents, the victims belonged to traffic, crime, law and other police wings. Earlier, circle inspector K Eswara Rao of III Town police station was killed when an unknown vehicle hit the police vehicle at Yendada area in the wee hours of last November, while driver Santosh received serious injuries. In other incidents, traffic personnel received minor injuries as those riding two-wheelers had hit them while commuting.

Hundreds of traffic personnel are performing their duties on the busy roads of Visakhapatnam on a daily basis. Most of the time, they risk their lives by standing in the middle of the roads in order to streamline the traffic. Given the rise in the accidents, family members of the police personnel are now a worried lot as they are concerned over the safety of the cops on duty.

Following the series of accidents that took place in the city, the need to stay more alert could not be brushed aside, especially when the cops are attending night duty.