Police chief set 2011-end as deadline; some police stations claim they have disposed of most vehicles.
Though the city police commissioner, Meeran Chadha Borwankar, had ordered disposal of unclaimed vehicles piled up on police station premises by the end of 2011, none of the police stations have achieved the target.
However, some of the police stations have disposed most of the vehicles. The Cantonment police station has disposed over 80 vehicles, while over 180 vehicles would be auctioned in the near future.
Assistant commissioner of police MM Makandar of Cantonment division told DNA, “We have disposed of vehicles and more are likely to be disposed of in the near future. After our division’s success, I have given ideas to other officers as well.”
Borwankar’s order stated that assistant commissioners of police (ACP) of each division (comprising two or three police stations) should monitor disposal of unclaimed vehicles. She had also declared a reward for policemen who trace owners of the vehicles.
Her order made it mandatory for the ACP of each division to review the vehicles disposed of every Monday. She had given the deadline of December 31, 2011 for disposal of all unclaimed vehicles.
The city has 31 police stations including two new ones, Koregaon Park and Market Yard.
According to the police records, each police station had more than 300 unclaimed motorcycles and over 30 four-wheelers.
When asked about the apparent failure of individual police stations to heed her orders, Borwankar said, “We have been successful.”
A senior police officer attached to the city police told DNA, “It is very difficult to trace the owner of a vehicle, as every police station has a workload. Moreover, most of the vehicles have piled up over the years as a result of which their engine numbers and other details are not clear.”
Inspectors of city police stations, when contacted, were reluctant to speak on the subject. They cited staff crunch problems and other duties.
In some police stations, the spare parts of the vehicles have been stolen. The police stations have not appointed any designated policeman to look after the vehicles.
According to a senior officer, the clean-up exercise is necessary as the vehicles consume a lot of space. “The space can be used for setting up amenities for the police station staff,” the officer added.
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