Drive safe to keep me away, 'Yamraj' reminds West Bengal drivers

Kolkata : Ride a two-wheeler without a helmet in Sagar and Gangasagar coastal areas of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal and the chances are that you will come across 'Yamraj' (god of death in Hinduism), at least a clone in flesh and blood, to forbid you from courting death.

"I have dressed up as Yamraj and intercepted a few bikers driving without helmets. I stopped them and made them take oath in front of a pot filled with hot oil (that they will wear helmets)," a Sagar police station official said on Wednesday.

Through this novel way, the police wanted to drive home the message that not wearing helmets while riding two-wheelers can be fatal.

"Normally, we challan such riders. But the whole idea is now to create social awareness on safe driving," said the official.

A few days ago, a similar initiative was launched at Trinity Circle on Bengaluru's MG Road, wherein traffic police joined theatre artistes to make drivers realise the importance of safe driving.

The novel method has been used in Patna in Bihar and Pune in Maharashtra as well, apart from other places.