It was no less than a funeral, just that the 'departed soul' was a helmet that saves hundreds of lives across the country every day.

A crackdown by the traffic police against helmetless bikers has raised the hackles of a decade-old anti-helmet brigade. The group is opposed to the protective gear on the pretext that it causes spine problems and hair loss.

In the backdrop of 184 deaths in two-wheeler mishaps last year, the city police have started taking penalising helmetless bikers since January 1. But this has not gone down well with the Anti-Helmet Compulsion Action Committee (AHCAC).

The city police in the past 15 years have made several attempts at disciplining two-wheeler riders, only to beat a retreat, particularly due to protests by AHCAC and political intervention.

This time it is going to be different, asserted the cops.

Not to be outdone, AHCAC members carried out a symbolic last journey of a helmet. They performed the tenth-day ritual at Vaikunth crematorium. The members also offered vada pav (a popular snack), a bottle of liquor in the special prayer performed inside the crematorium.

Balasaheb Runwal, founder of the brigade, said, "We had requested the police to give us the permission perform tenth-day ritual outside the Pune police commissionerate but they denied. We had no option but to perform the ritual in the crematorium."

Runwal said the use of helmet should be voluntary. "There are a lot of riders who have faced back or neck pain after using the helmet which clearly shows that the use of helmets is not at all comfortable. Apart from that, the average speed of the vehicle in the city is so low that the riders do not require helmets," Runwal said.

The anti-helmet drive has also brought political rivals together. Leaders from the Congress, BJP, NCP have been participating in protest rallies. Yogesh Gogawale, president of BJP's city unit said, "We are going to meet the police commissioner to request him to discontinue the action. If he does not listen, we will hit the road and we will ask two-wheeler riders to oppose the rule."

NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade said they have been demanding the police to raise awareness among riders instead of penalising them. He said, "The police are unnecessarily harassing the citizens with such action."

The police are determined to continue the drive. Police Commissioner K Venkatesham said, "Some delegation of the committee opposing the action had come to meet me. They have given some suggestions in this regard. We are positively considering these suggestions but as far as the action against the helmetless riders is considered, it will continue as per the rule."

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