Mumbai: After the High Court ordered the Mumbai Traffic Police to penalise motorists, who have pasted the ‘Police’ stickers or logo on their private vehicles, a circular was issued on Tuesday asking such motorists to remove the stickers, or else face the music. Police sources said with stickers, it becomes easy for the violators to evade a fine after violations. The same rule applies to the court judges and journalists as well. The traffic police has issued a circular and sent it to all the various divisions, asking them to initiate action against private vehicles sporting ‘Police’ sticker or the police logo of the Mumbai Police, Mumbai Traffic Police or Maharashtra Police. If caught, the violator will be penalised, and obviously, stickers will be removed, besides the action may attract a punishment.
Madhukar Pandey, joint commissioner of police (traffic) said, “The individuals use the logo as a way to violate traffic rules and get away with it. Moreover, many cases of impersonation have also been recorded where they fleece money from unsuspecting motorists who either jump a signal or violate some other traffic rules.” The circular issued on Tuesday states not just police staff but also individuals not associated with the police force paste such stickers on the windscreens or on motorbikes to avoid fines in case they violate traffic rules or even to avoid paying tax at the toll plazas. “The stickers are easily available in the market for as low as Rs15, allowing anyone to paste it on the windscreen of the cars or motorcycle’s mudguard number plates.”
Pandey said, “Many complaints were registered lately wherein people with police logos were reported to be parking their vehicles in the no-parking zone. We will begin a crackdown on motorists who have pasted logos of ‘Police’ and ‘Press’. A similar circular was issued on Tuesday by the Bombay High Court to stop the practice of inscribing letters ‘Nyaydhish’, ‘Judge’ or ‘Metropolitan Magistrate’ on private vehicles.
