Minister Pramod Madhwaraj pays fine for riding bike without helmet

Udupi, Nov 12: Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports, had to pay a fine of Rs 100 for riding a motorbike without a helmet in his home district.

Mr Madhwaraj, who is also the district in-charge minister of Udupi, rode a motorbike at Karje village for a few minutes recently. The video-clippings of Mr. Madhwaraj riding the motorbike without helmet went viral on the social media. These photographs were also posted on WhatsApp groups.

Replying to queries from presspersons during his weekly phone-in programme here on Saturday, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev M. Patil, said that Mr. Madhwaraj suo motu contacted the police and paid the fine on Friday (November 10). “He is a law abiding citizen,” he said.

Dr. Patil also said that in the last week, the police had booked 848 cases against people not wearing helmets in the district, while 170 cases were booked against vehicles using shrill horns.

Later, on receiving complaints that two-wheelers and other vehicles had been parked in front of shops and business complexes obstructing the movement of other vehicles on the Mosque Road and the Vidyasamudra Road here, Dr. Patil himself visited these places and got these roads cleared.