The Vadodara city police stopped two-wheeler riders and tied a Rakhi on their wrists to celebrate ‘Suraksha Bandhan’ (Express)Taking a unique way, the Vadodara city police decided to celebrate Raksha Bandhan on Saturday with two-wheeler riders, in order to convey a message of “inescapable” fines for not wearing helmets, coming into effect from September 15. In an attempt to deter riders from zooming on their two-wheelers without helmets, the Vadodara city police, led by Commissioner of Police Narasimha Komar and Joint Commissioner of Police Leena Patil, stopped two-wheeler riders and tied a rakhi on their wrists to celebrate “Suraksha Bandhan”. Along with sweets, the riders were served the message of “wearing the helmet unfailingly” to “protect themselves” and follow the traffic rules. Interestingly, Vadodara BJP Lok Sabha MP Hemang Joshi on Friday made a public statement urging the city police to ensure strict enforcement of helmet rules. Joshi said, “If you get calls from political leaders, pressuring you to set anyone free in a helmet- related offence, divert their calls to me. There can be no escaping this rule as it is for the safety of all.”Probe & ChaosThe recent suspension of Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s Head of Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Dr Devesh Patel, Chief Fire Officer Manoj Patil, and Deputy Fire Officer Naitik Bhatt over an alleged Rs 3.17 crore procurement scam has raised questions about the role of the scrutiny committee, third-party inspections, and the Standing Committee seemingly turning a blind eye to the process of tendering and procurement. The controversy took a chaotic turn late on Friday night when Committee Chairman Dr Sheetal Mistry “summoned” the current in-charge Deputy Fire Officer, Amit Chaudhary, to bring the controversial items and tools for inspection. As Chaudhary arrived with the fire personnel, carrying a huge and heavy sack of the items to Mistry’s office, members of the Vishwamitri Bachao Samiti, a citizens group, questioned the motive. Advocate Shailesh Amin, who is part of the group and was also present on the VMC premises when the fire officials arrived with the items, asked as to why the chairman summoned the fire officers without keeping the municipal commissioner in the loop. “If the Standing Committee has claimed that inspecting the tender details does not come under its purview, then whose jurisdiction is it to physically inspect the controversial items. This is the same Standing Committee, which, in many instances, returns proposals citing inflated bill amounts… We have demanded that the state government must include the VMC under its ‘Operation Gangajal’ initiative.” Incidentally, Amin had, on Friday morning, dashed a letter to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel demanding “Operation Gangajal” — the state government initiative to take action against allegedly corrupt officials — in the VMC.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Gujarat confidential