Mumbai: MLA Sanjay Upadhyay caught a dumper driver for allegedly driving without a licence and recklessly tailing the MLA's vehicle on the Western Express Highway. Upadhyay shared a post on X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the dumper's number plate had been erased and images of suspected drug packets were found on the driver’s mobile phone.
In a follow-up post, Upadhyay stated that the driver had earlier been operating a smaller vehicle before switching to the heavy dumper. The MLA handed the driver over to Kurar Police, who subsequently fined him.
The incident occurred on May 21 around 4 p.m., while Upadhyay was travelling from Borivali to Mantralaya in South Mumbai. The driver was allegedly applying sudden brakes while closely following the MLA's vehicle.
When Upadhyay and his team confronted him, the driver reportedly responded rudely. The MLA then alerted the police. Officers from Kurar Police Station arrived at the scene and took appropriate legal action.
The police confirmed they had not filed a formal case but had fined the driver in accordance with traffic rules. They also clarified that the images found on the driver's mobile phone were of curd packets, not drugs.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, MLA Upadhyay said, “Dumper drivers are driving recklessly on both the Western and Eastern Express Highways. In such cases, they often get table bail, so they are not afraid of the consequences. They drive these heavy vehicles as if they were two-wheelers. Thousands of citizens reacted to my post on X, proving that this is a serious and widespread issue in Mumbai.”
In his post, the MLA urged the Mumbai Police and Traffic Police to take strict action against both dumper drivers and their owners. He tagged the Mumbai Police, Mumbai Traffic Police, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), calling on authorities to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves.
