Many Bengalureans were taken by surprise when the police, on Tuesday night, conducted a special drive to check vehicles. Sources said the drive is specifically aimed at tracking stolen two-wheelers and cabs (yellow board vehicles) that are used to commit crimes.
On the first day of the drive, police seized several two-wheelers and yellow board vehicles that were found without registration documents. “There has been an increase in vehicle theft cases and it also has been found that organised criminal gangs are using stolen vehicles to commit crimes,” said Joint Commissioner (Crime) Pronab Mohanty.
The weeklong drive will be taken up around crucial points in the city. The late night ‘nakabandi’ was introduced following the recent arrest of a gang of vehicle-lifters. The city police had also arrested a gang involved in a murder in Andhra Pradesh after a stolen vehicle with a fake Karnataka registration number was identified.
The surprise checks also led to a long traffic jam on Museum Road starting from Cariappa Bhavan to the post office putting many to inconvenience even past 11 pm. “If they were planning on such a big drive, then they should also have involved the traffic police in managing traffic movement. There are many returning from work and everyone wants to get home,” said Vishnu Prasad, a resident of R.T. Nagar.