Several officers of the city police traffic department were on duty on the roads with their arms on Thursday after a gap of over 10 years.
The order issued by Kolkata traffic police said only sergeants on night duty will have to carry arms mandatorily. There is no such compulsion on sergeants on day duty. However, several traffic sergeants across Kolkata carried arms while on day shift, too.
On Thursday, many sergeants went to their local police station and collected their weapons.
“I came prepared with my holster and collected my gun from the local police station,” said a traffic cop posted in south Kolkata who was on day shift. “Although it was not mandatory, I took the weapon, a 9mm pistol, because this is the first time in my career I got the opportunity to carry a gun,” he said.
Many said they did not get arms on Thursday as the number of weapons in their police station was not enough for all the sergeants.
Several police stations have more than one traffic guard in their jurisdiction, making it difficult to accommodate all the sergeants, an officer said.
A senior officer in Lalbazar said it was not mandatory for day-shift officers to carry arms. “It is mandatory for night-duty officers who are mostly on duty alone. They often have to rush to any scene of crime at night without knowing the risk or waiting for back-up from the police station,” said the officer.
Another officer said the idea was to empower the cops on the roads as they were the first responders to any law and order situation.
The Telegraph reported on Thursday that Kolkata police traffic cops had last carried arms in 2011, after which the practice was discontinued.
