Manmeet Singh, a member of the Sikh community, was fined Rs.100 for not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle in the Dabgari area of Peshawar.
In KPK, the Sikh community is exempted from wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle. In 2018, Peshawar police had exempted the Sikh community from wearing a bike helmet due to their religious headdress.
On the face of it, Mr. Singh was fined in violation of the provincial law.
Peshawar city’s SSP Traffic Kashif Zulfiqar, however, defended the police officer who challenged Mr. Singh. He asserted that the police official was unaware that the Sikh community was legally exempted from wearing a helmet.
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He added that his department respects all religious communities living in Peshawar and will, therefore, issue a written directive to all the traffic wardens to this effect. He expressed disappointment on this incident but also ensured that such an incident will not take place in the future.
There are a total of 60,000 Sikhs living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone. Among them, as many as 15,000 are currently living in the provincial capital, which makes one-fourth of the total Sikh community living in the province. The law enforcement departments should, therefore, take extra measures to ensure such unfortunate incidents are not repeated in future. Helmets for sale on PakWheels Auto Parts Shop.
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