After car towing row, Mumbai Police to train cops on dealing with women

While there may be different versions of the incident of a car being towed away with a woman breastfeeding her child inside it, the Mumbai Police is not leaving any stone unturned to escape any possible embarrassment.

The Mumbai Traffic Police department has decided to give lessons to cops on how to deal with women and minors. The cops will also be trained on taking right decisions at crucial moments.

According to a police officer, “Following the Malad incident, instructions have been given to all the traffic senior police officers to brief their staff on how to behave with citizens and how to deal with women and minors. We hope such incidents will not repeat.”

A video had gone viral on social media that showed a car being towed away in Mumbai's Malad West while a woman was breastfeeding her seven-month-old baby inside it.

This sparked an uproar on social media with people slamming the Mumbai Police for the alleged insensitivity.

The woman inside the car, Jyoti Male, had claimed that the policemen did not even ask her to get down before towing the car, even when she told them that she was breastfeeding.

National Commission for Women (NCW) also took cognizance of the video with its chairperson Rekha Sharma demanding strict action should against the policeman. She, however, added that if the woman acted irresponsibly, a case should be registered against her as well.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also condemned the incident, terming it as “unfortunate and absolutely insensitive”. He had also asked the police department to sensitize traffic cops to avoid such incidents.

However, a second video that emerged gave a different picture to the story.

The new video shot on a mobile phone shows that the seven-month-old baby was not inside the car but in the arms of another family member when the Mumbai Traffic Police warned to tow it away. The infant was taken inside, thereafter, indicating that situation could have been averted, as part of the parent.

(With DNA inputs)