Own a Thar? You are making a statement and you’re probably crazy, at least according to the Haryana Director General of Police.
In an interaction with reporters on Saturday, the Haryana top cop, OP Singh, was explaining the procedures police follow when carrying out checking of vehicles and said officials have to be polite when they do so.
Breaking into a smile, he began talking about how they don’t stop all vehicles for checking, but couldn’t possibly let a Thar go.
“If it’s a Thar, how can we let it go? Or if it’s a Bullet motorcycle… all rogue elements use these two. The choice of vehicle reflects your mindset. People who drive Thars perform stunts on the road. The son of an assistant commissioner of police ran over someone while driving a Thar. He wants his son freed, and we asked him whose name the car is registered in. It’s in his name, so he is the rogue element,” Singh said in Hindi.
Turning to a fellow policeman, he continued: “If we make a list of cops, how many will have a Thar? And whoever has it, he must be crazy (‘dimaag ghuma hua hoga uska’)… It’s a statement. The Thar is not a car, it’s a statement which says ‘this is how I am’. Okay then, suffer. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t indulge in hooliganism and then expect not to get caught,” he said.
The Haryana DGP’s remarks, apparently made half in jest, probably stem from increasing reports of Thars being used for stunts, ranging from a woman sitting on top of the vehicle and students falling off one while doing the same thing, to crashing into an electricity pole while standing on the sideboard and even urinating from a moving Thar.
Several instances of Thars being driven rashly and being involved in fatal accidents have also been reported.