Udupi Minister voluntarily pays fine for riding sans helmet

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Nov 12, 2017: Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports, is said to have paid a fine of Rs. 100 for riding a motorcycle without a helmet at Karje village in Udupi district.

The Minister rode a motorcycle for a few minutes and the video-clippings of  Madhwaraj riding the motorcycle without helmet went viral on the social media. These photographs were also posted on WhatsApp groups.

Replying to queries from media during his weekly phone-in programme here on Nov 11, Saturday, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev M. Patil, said that  Madhwaraj suo motu contacted the police and paid the fine on Nov 10,  Friday . “He is a law abiding citizen,” he said.

Dr. Patil also said that in the last week, the police had booked 848 cases against people not wearing helmets in the district, while 170 cases were booked against vehicles using shrill horns.

Later, on receiving complaints that two-wheelers and other vehicles had been parked in front of shops and business complexes obstructing the movement of other vehicles on the Mosque Road and the Vidyasamudra Road here, Dr. Patil himself visited these places and got these roads cleared.

But, the nagging question is... Is money above the law?