Grounded: Naveen C was arrested for performing stunts on his bike by Bengaluru police.
Bengaluru:
The 25-year-old had friends record him as he performed stunts on a motorcycle on Bengaluru's streets. Naveen C wanted to upload the video to Facebook to impress his girlfriend, and peers alike. But the police beat him to it.
Mr Naveen, a student at a Bengaluru vocational institute, was arrested by the police for rash driving.
And he may not be able to upload the video, at least for some time.
The police not only seized his bike, but also the camera and the car that his friends drove alongside to capture him perform stunts such as a wheelie, a manoeuvre in which the two-wheeler is ridden with the front wheel raised off the ground.
"We have registered a case of rash and negligent driving and produced them before the court," said R Hitendra, additional commissioner in-charge of traffic in the city. It turned out he didn't even have a driving licence.
Mr Naveen had chosen a stretch between Queen's Road Junction and CTO Junction for the stunts and the timing well. By 10.45 pm, the traffic was light on February 11, a Saturday, and the police personnel posted in the area had called it a day.
But some passers-by called him out.
Naveen had chosen a stretch between Queen's Road Junction and CTO Junction for his stunts in Bengaluru.
The rest was easy.
The Cubbon Park Traffic police checked the footage recorded by cameras in the area and got hold of the registration numbers of the motorcycle and the car.
In the past, Bengaluru traffic police has carried out drives against bikers who perform stunts on roads and not only endanger their own lives but also other road-users.
Last September, they even started tracking social media to spot such videos after 18-year-old Shiny Kiran, riding pillion with friends who were racing and performing stunts on three bikes, fell off her bike. She was run over by a van.
Mohammed Juber, 21, a resident of Frazer Town in Bengaluru was among those arrested as part of the police drive. He had uploaded his pictures performing stunts on Facebook.
"We will continue this drive in future also," Mr Hitendra told NDTV.