Here is good news for Bengalureans, especially for motorists whose vehicles have been seized till date for violating the lockdown. The Bengaluru police have decided to return the seized vehicles from May 1. However, all vehicles will not be released on the same day. They will be released according to the seizure date. The vehicles seized first will be released first.
Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has tweeted about the decision to release seized vehicles. “It’s decided to return the corona seized vehicles from 1/5/20 onwards. Those seized first will be returned first. The documents will be verified and vehicle returned. This has approval of Hon CM and HM. We are doing the paperwork to ease the process,” it said.
According to the police, they have seized more than 50,000 vehicles across Bengaluru after the lockdown was imposed. These seized vehicles include cars, autorickshaws and two-wheelers. The vehicles were seized because motorists had come out during lockdown without having a valid pass or without any emergency.
“We seized vehicles of mischievous people who came out for no reason. Many of them had come out in search of tobacco products and liquor,” said an officer who was part of seizing operations. “But the motorists used to tell that they are on their way to purchase essentials like groceries, milk and medicines.”
“The seized vehicles are parked near the respective police stations or in nearby vacant places. The police have maintained the records of seized vehicles along with the registration number, owner name and the rider who was caught. They have even maintained the time, date and place of seizure. So, we will return the vehicle to the right owner only after verifying the documents. If anyone fails to produce documents, vehicles will not be released,” a senior officer said. “The entire process may take at least a week,” the officer added.
Initially, the police had decided to release these vehicles after May 3, but since the Karnataka government relaxed the lockdown, they decided to release the vehicles, an officer said.