Traffic police overlook offences on Public Eye app

A screenshot of the offence reported through the Public Eye app and the same not seen on the Bengaluru Traffic Police website. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A screenshot of the offence reported through the Public Eye app and the same not seen on the Bengaluru Traffic Police website. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A screenshot of the offence reported through the Public Eye app and the same not seen on the Bengaluru Traffic Police website. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT 

A large number of complaints registered through the Public Eye app launched by the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) remain unattended, much to the annoyance of the users.

Though users get a message on the app that a notice has been served to the offender, they check the BTP’s website and find ‘no pending cases’ displayed against their
names.

Marathahalli resident Sijo Sebastian reported an offence from Kundalahalli and received an acknowledgement on the app. But he was shocked to observe the vehicle owner repeating the offence.

“Indiscriminate parking of taxis obstructs traffic movement on Graphite India Road. I reported the offence on the app and the BTP said ‘resolved, violation booked’. But I found that the offence had been repeated. When I crosschecked on the website, I found no cases pending against the offender,” Sebastian said.

Sebastian checked it by reporting other vehicles and got a prompt response without the offender’s details popping up.

Nagalakshmi, a resident of Basavanagudi, checked the BTP website to find several old cases against the offender’s name, but the one she reported using the app did not show up. “When I received the response, I thought the offender was penalised and didn’t bother to crosscheck,” Nagalakshmi said.

“But after seeing the person commit the same offence at the same spot, I reported (it once again) and kept checking the BTP site daily. It has been 15 days since I reported the offence. I have the acknowledgement from the BTP, but it is not getting updated on the site,” she added. But users asked if the app is actually serving the purpose and felt the risk of reporting offences is doubling every time they check.

BTP officials, however, said it could be a technical issue.

“We ensure all the complaints are taken seriously and the offender is booked. If complaints are missing, it could be due to technical issues. All the issues will be addressed shortly,” a senior BTP official told DH.