Police may reintroduce vehicle towing in city

By NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: While the decision to suspend the practice of towing away vehicles had been a relief to some citizens, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) is concerned over the rise in haphazard parking and traffic congestion in Bengaluru.

C.H. Pratap Reddy, who took charge as Bengaluru Police Commissioner on Tuesday, had hinted that the drive might soon be restarted with new guidelines. “We will speak to the government about reintroducing the towing policy,” he said.

According to the reports, BTP has been receiving numerous complaints about illegally parked vehicles causing inconvenience to the residents, pedestrians and other motorists. A senior traffic official said that currently the cops are taking pictures of such vehicles and are issuing challans to their owners. But still the drive has been less effective, he said.

The towing policy was suspended in February following a public outcry over alleged harassment by the vehicle-towing personnel. Various videoclips of the bikes picked up even after being parked at the right places, attracted widespread criticism from the public.

Some people also complained of harassment from the vehicle towing personnel. As a result, the towing policy came to a halt in February.

Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda said that while vehicle towing was active, people were afraid to park their vehicles haphazardly. “But after the policy was suspended, the number of parking violations have been rising,” he said.

A traffic official said that some people take parking violations lightly without realising the inconvenience they cause to others.

Taking note of all the complaints, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner said the towing policy will be relaunched in the city soon with a new set of guidelines.