We can only imagine that Saleem Pasha, if he is still driving his autorickshaw across town, has little idea that his name constantly props up in the files of the nearby Wilson Garden Traffic Police Station.
For the past seven months, a traffic policeman at the station has been trying to track him down and get him to pay nearly ₹11,200 in fines that he racked up just between October 2015 and March 2016. For the fourth time in seven months, the traffic police have released a list of the top-500 violators.
Saleem, with 114 cases against his name, including a staggering 76 cases of wrongful parking, has topped the list this time around.
He has been in the top 10 since January when the Bengaluru traffic police started their process to “name and shame” offenders.
In the July list, the 500 persons listed have the dubious record of racking up 19,729 traffic offences.
The list of violators is dominated by motorcyclists and autorickshaw drivers who cumulatively comprise more than three-fourths of the offences.
“The listing of violators has worked in creating awareness about the violations caught through automation. This list is given to the police stations, and each month, we trace over 250 of these violators...pressure is built on the officers to track the violators,” said R. Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
However, many continue to remain untraced in the list.
As many as 90 persons with 4,500 violations, who were listed in January, are still yet to be traced and they find themselves in the July list too.
“In some cases, the vehicle will be sold or scrapped without informing the RTO, or the person would have shifted addresses,” said Mr. Hitendra.
This seems to be the theory of local traffic cops about Saleem Pasha, whose consistent law-breaking spree ended sometime last year.
So far this year, nearly ₹55.5 crore in penalties has been raised, and an estimated 60% has been collected.
For the past seven months, a traffic policeman at the station has been trying to track him down and get him to pay nearly ₹11,200 in fines that he racked up just between October 2015 and March 2016. For the fourth time in seven months, the traffic police have released a list of the top-500 violators.
Saleem, with 114 cases against his name, including a staggering 76 cases of wrongful parking, has topped the list this time around.
He has been in the top 10 since January when the Bengaluru traffic police started their process to “name and shame” offenders.
In the July list, the 500 persons listed have the dubious record of racking up 19,729 traffic offences.
The list of violators is dominated by motorcyclists and autorickshaw drivers who cumulatively comprise more than three-fourths of the offences.
“The listing of violators has worked in creating awareness about the violations caught through automation. This list is given to the police stations, and each month, we trace over 250 of these violators...pressure is built on the officers to track the violators,” said R. Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
However, many continue to remain untraced in the list.
As many as 90 persons with 4,500 violations, who were listed in January, are still yet to be traced and they find themselves in the July list too.
“In some cases, the vehicle will be sold or scrapped without informing the RTO, or the person would have shifted addresses,” said Mr. Hitendra.
This seems to be the theory of local traffic cops about Saleem Pasha, whose consistent law-breaking spree ended sometime last year.
So far this year, nearly ₹55.5 crore in penalties has been raised, and an estimated 60% has been collected.