Calcutta, Nov. 11: Traffic cop Maniklal Ganguly must have realised by now the perils of stopping a doctor in a hurry.

And, more important, hopping onto his bike.

The officer-in-charge of the Baguiati traffic guard would have cut a sorrier figure last night had his colleagues not responded fast to his cries for help as a furious Dr R.N. Sen roared down VIP Road on an emergency call.

Ganguly had stopped Sen at a traffic signal in Baguiati and booked him for violating rules. The doctor then threatened the officer, saying he would teach him a lesson for daring to stop him.

“As a crowd gathered on VIP Road affecting the traffic flow, Ganguly asked Sen to accompany him to the nearest traffic guard. As Ganguly sat on the pillion and directed Sen to move towards the traffic office, barely a hundred yards away, the doctor suddenly sped off with the officer,” said Tarun Dutta, a local trader who was present at the spot.

Within moments, Ganguly realised that the doctor had no intention of going where he had been asked to. He told Sen to stop. When the doctor refused, Ganguly picked up his wireless set and instructed his colleagues to intercept the motorcycle at the nearest crossing.

Soon, policemen at various intersections started looking for the motorcycle and, finally, spotted it near Nazrul Park on VIP Road.

“Near Nazrul Park, we stopped the motorcycle and asked the man to come to the traffic guard. He was seething in anger and refused. He even flaunted his connections,” said an officer of Rajarhat police station.

“But when we told him that he had committed a serious offence and could be punished, he cooled down. In the meantime, his elder brother, who is a senior doctor with a government hospital, turned up and apologised.”

Ganguly, when contacted, refused to say much except that there was a “problem” but that the doctor had apologised and was allowed to go.

“I have already informed my seniors and will not divulge any details,” the officer said.