One man’s crusade against unsafe bike stuntmen

MUMBAI: Mahim resident Mushtaq Ansari was deeply troubled by the incident that took place on March 8 wherein a bike with two teenagers fell off from a height of 40 feet from the U-bridge in Bandra resulting in the death of an 18-year-old boy. It made him think of all the bikers, mostly young men, he had seen performing wheelies and other extreme stunts late in the night.

He took it upon himself to force the authorities into action – to book these stuntmen - which will set an example for young bikers. On Friday, Ansari succeeded in this mission as the Mumbai Traffic police booked two bikers as well as pillion riders based on videos of bike stunts posted by him on Twitter. While one case was booked against a biker performing a stunt on the promenade of Powai Lake, the other case was filed against a biker performing wheelie with two pillions in Bandra Kurla Complex.

Ansari, who started out with a crusade against the high number of potholes riddling the streets of Mumbai in 2018 along with fellow Mahim resident Irfan Macchiwala has come across several road accident cases caused by the bad quality of roads in Mumbai. “However, over time, we realised that it is not always the infrastructure or authorities who can be held responsible. Sometimes, people make poor choices that end up affecting their own lives, their parents and even putting an end to their life,” he said.

What surprised Ansari the most about stuntmen was the fact that many of those indulging in these activities were openly sharing their videos, bragging about their abilities to perform these dangerous stunts on social media to gain likes and shares. “Instagram is full of these videos but the police perhaps didn’t come across them. I started sharing them on Twitter starting March 14 and tagged the Mumbai Traffic Police so as to goad them into action,” said Ansari. He said that many of the riders who perform these stunts are underage, have no helmets or protective gear on.

After the social activist put up videos of bikers performing stunts without any care for their safety or that of the others on Thursday, the traffic police have registered cases in Powai and BKC police stations against the unidentified bikers in the videos. They have also asked people to help them identify and track those bikers.

Mushtaq Ansari, who runs the page Pothole Warriors and takes up various social issues, has been raising the issue for several weeks now. On Thursday, he put up three stunt videos of riders performing dangerous stunts back-to-back. After they attracted much attention from the Mumbai Twitterati, the traffic police responded by saying they have registered official complaints against the erring bikers.

“At first, their responses were standard – asking me for the vehicle number and exact location and to register a complaint in the nearest police station. The number plates were clearly visible in some of the videos and would be enough to track the owners of those vehicles for the traffic police,” said Ansari.

It was only after the comments section pulled up the traffic police for giving out these standard responses, especially given the seriousness of the situation that the police sprang into action. On Friday, they commented below one of the videos that showed a man circling a bike while sitting on the mudguard of the front tire to inform them they had lodged a complaint against him.

“A case has been registered with Powai against this stuntman and his associate vide CR. No. 196/23 U/S (under sections 279 (rash and negligent driving), 336 (endangering human life or safety of others) and 114 (abetment) IPC r/w 184,190(2),129 MV Act. If anyone has any information about the person in this video can DM us directly,” said the traffic police.

A similar comment was left under another video which showed a man performing a wheelie while having two women as pillions, one in front of him atop the fuel tank and the other on the backseat. While engaging with the commenters here, they informed that not only the rider, the two women had also been booked as abettors at the BKC police station.

No comment has been made yet under the third video that shows a man performing a wheelie while the woman on the pillion seat tries to touch the road.

Syed Saquib Taqi (26), a professional stuntman who has been biking for more than eight years, believes that anyone who wants to use any of the mean machines, they first need to know and follow the safety measures. “I do not encourage children or even adults to ride fast on roads. Street riding is very different from stunts. In both cases, helmets, riding gears and other safety precautions are of utmost importance,” he said.

Ansari agreed and said that any young people who are interested in bikes and stunts should look for the right resources, including serious riders who could help them take up the hobby while eliminating the risks involved.