MP: Man sets bike on fire after being issued challan

An unidentified man in Indore on Sunday night set his bike on fire after he was issued a challan by traffic police personnel. The man soon after fled from the spot.

Locals who witnessed the incident have accused the traffic police personnel of harassing commuters and taking money from them.

"They stopped and asked that man for Rs 500. The man pleaded to them for almost an hour but they did not relent. So, he got sick of it and set his bike on fire and ran away," stated an onlooker.

The onlookers further stated that the personnel hide their identity and stop vehicles to extort money from them.

"We don't know their name, they hide their identity. They stop all sorts of vehicles like cars, vans and even transport vehicles and tell them that it is their area. Even at nearby Malwa mill point, there are three of them who do the same thing. All they do stopping cars and extort money from people," said an onlooker.

Another onlooker stated, "Half the time they are intoxicated. They stop us and tell us that we are fined Rs 1,000 and then as a bribe of Rs 500 to let us go. But in Madhya Pradesh, the new Motor Vehicle Act has not even been implemented."

The police were on the spot to investigate the incident and recover the bike after dousing the fire. We are carrying out an investigation into the incident, said Pardesipura Station House Officer, Rahul Sharma.