Traffic police and RTO step up crackdown on autorickshaw drivers

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

After a traffic police officer was dragged nearly 20-feet when an auto-rickshaw driver rammed into him, the traffic branch and RTO officials began a crackdown on rickshaw drivers on Monday. By evening, 1,049 rickshaws had been checked and 111 were seized. Shockingly, at Baba Chowk alone, five rickshaw drivers with criminal records were caught including one who had spent three years in a West Bengal prison for drug trafficking and is now openly driving a rickshaw in the city.

On Sunday at Mahavir Chowk, while traffic policeman Tukaram Taksale was managing traffic, rogue rickshaw driver Yusuf Mohammad Ali Ansari (of Latabad) hit him with his rickshaw and dragged him. Taksale suffered serious injuries.

As reported earlier, Yusuf was arrested on August 11 for misbehaving with a female officer at the Railway Station, yet despite this, he attacked police again. This incident has once again highlighted the alarming rise of criminals operating in the rickshaw trade. This was the second attack on a police officer within a few weeks. Following the attack, DCP Sharmistha Gharge-Walawalkar and ACP Subhash Bhujang planned strict action. On Monday, checks were conducted at major circles, squares and roads. Police Inspectors (PIs) Amol Devkar, Rajesh Yadav, Avinash Aghav, APIs Sachin Mirdhe, Hareshwar Ghuge, Sunil Karale, and Vitthal Ghodke conducted the operation.

Paraded through the same locality

Vedantnagar Police and the Crime Branch picked up Yusuf from Kesapuri late at night. The court remanded him to three days’ police custody. Police Inspector Praveena Yadav and API (traffic) Sachin Mirdhe paraded him on foot through Baba Chowk, Vedantnagar, Panchavati, and Kokanwadi in the evening. Police said he had been driving a rickshaw owned by a relative.

Breakdown of Monday’s action against rickshaws

Violation...............................................Count

Entry through no-entry route--12

Wrong/unauthorised parking--50

Passenger on front seat--104

Fancy/unclear number plates--58

Excess passengers--36

Without uniform--515

Without licence--91

Did not stop despite signals--24

Other violations--159

Will criminal records now be checked?

The traffic branch (Cantonment Division) seized 61 suspicious rickshaws and demanded character certificates from their drivers. Inquiries of 24 drivers revealed four criminals, including one shockingly found to be a drug trafficker, who had spent three years in a West Bengal prison.

The traffic branch (Cidco Division) detained a drunk rickshaw driver as well. In total, fines worth ₹11,19,400 were imposed, out of which ₹3,67,000 was collected. A total of 111 rickshaws were seized across the city, including 61 from Baba Chowk alone.