Drive against drunk driving: Furtive glances, smiles greet woman cops

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Suryavanshi (30) flagged down each car driven by a woman for two hours, often darting quickly across two lanes of moving traffic to do so. “Most women I checked were happy to speak to a woman cop,” Suryavanshi said after the bandobast wrapped up after 1 am on Sunday.
Her brief before heading out on Saturday night was no different than those given to the men — lean in to listen, engage the driver inconversation and observe body language.

“We are trained to pick from afar, motorists driving under the influence. Women driving with their families will normally not be drunk. But those with red eyes, or those shying away from making eye contact and those focusing greatly at the wheel are suspects,” Suryavanshi said.

Dahisar resident Suryavanshi has been serving in the Mumbai Police for the past seven years, and for the last three years at the DN Nagar traffic division, where she is one of only six women personnel. Each of the six women will be posted for the night bandobasts by turn.
Typical to a traffic bandobast at Juhu, Suryavanshi also had her share of celebrity spotting, after flagging down a silver Mercedes car driven by television actress Kamya Punjabi. “I asked her what her name was and where she was going. She said that she going for a shoot. Then she asked me what I was doing and we shared a good laugh,” she said.

The only incident of note came at the end of the bandobast when Suryavanshi caught a lawyer driving without her licence. “She seemed surprised to be stopped, but was let off after paying a fine of Rs 100. But we talked about how it was important that women drivers are checked after Janhavi Gadkar killed two people on the eastern freeway,” she said.

Suryavanshi’s presence has also brought a sense of relief for her male colleagues, who have never stopped a woman at the wheel of a car, even when they suspected that she might be inebriated.

“Women drivers are uncomfortable with a male police putting his head near their face while asking questions. A lot of policemen are also scared of being accused of misbehaviour by a woman driving drunk. But I am glad that we can now act against women drivers,” said Sub Inspector Dhanvant Jadhav, bandobast in-charge.

After pulling aside the traffic barricades and readying to head back to the police station, Suryavanshi admitted that she had had a good experience on the first night. “The street-smart women told me that they didn’t drink alcohol even before I could open my mouth. But a lot of women said thank you before driving away,” she said.

25-yr-old  fined

The traffic police caught a 25-year-old woman driving under the influence of alcohol on Friday night, the only case since the drive to catch women offenders began. Usma Vikamse was caught by women constables in Byculla. She had to appear in court and pay a fine, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Kumbhare.