Parking mafia busted after cops arrest one

An illegal parking mafia has been busted in central Delhi where motorists were being asked to pay at a slot not allocated by the municipal corporation.

The motorists were provided fake parking slips and some of them even gave the keys of their vehicles to the ‘parking attendants’, police said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a man identified as Vipin, a resident of north-east Delhi’s New Usmanpur, was arrested.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander, they were informed about illegal parking facility being operated in front of National Herald building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.

Realising that motorists were being cheated, Chander sent a team to the parking spot. “Traffic policemen in plainclothes from Darya Ganj circle were deputed to enquire the information,” Chander added.

At 5 pm on Wednesday, a traffic policeman acting as a decoy in plainclothes parked his motorcycle in front of the building.

He was approached by Vipin, who demanded Rs 10 for parking. When asked, Vipin said the area was a paid one. “The decoy handed over money, on which Vipin gave a receipt,” Chander said.

The traffic police said Vipin was not authorised to collect any parking fee as no such paid parking had been allocated by the municipal corporation.

Vipin also failed to provide any document to prove his authority to collect money for parking.

He was apprehended by the staff of I P Estate police station. Police also recovered some car keys and a fake receipt book from him.

A case of cheating under the Indian Penal Code has been registered with I P Estate police station. Police will also probe if there is a nexus of civic authorities and the mafia running illegal parking slots.