Thane: A Thane traffic police inspector collapsed while on duty during deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s convoy movement in the city on Friday, prompting the politician to instantly alight from his helicopter and rush to his aid and later escort him to the hospital before continuing his further engagements in Mumbai.PI Sanjay Nalawade had been deployed since morning as part of the team managing Shinde’s security and traffic movements. He collapsed at Saket helipad as Shinde returned from Pune after visiting actor Nana Patekar’s Ganpati celebrations. A video that later went viral shows Shinde, who had just alighted from his helicopter, spotting the cop collapse and immediately rushing towards the ambulance where his colleagues had placed Nalawade.“Shinde instructed the police to let the ambulance move ahead of his convoy and also accompanied to the hospital, where he spoke to doctors and ensured treatment was started instantly. Nalawade’s condition was later reported to be stable, following which Shinde left for his scheduled engagements in Mumbai, but he continued to enquire about the inspector’s condition,” a member of Shinde’s team said.Meanwhile, DCP (Zone V) Prashant Kadam and DCP (Traffic) Pankaj Shirsat also reached the hospital.While Shinde’s prompt intervention in Friday’s incident was praised in police and political circles, the episode has once again drawn attention to the strain on police personnel deployed for prolonged VIP movements in and around the city. Incidentally, the Friday incident comes soon after PI Vijay Sangade, who was also part of Shinde’s convoy, died after suffering a heart attack.Shinde later credited Lord Ganpati’s blessings for Nalawade’s safety, saying he was merely an “instrument” in the process.
