RECENTLY faced harassment by the traffic police who have made lifting of the vehicles and motorcycles in the city a ‘business’ and a source of apparently legal income. On Nov 5, I visited the Regal Centre laptop market in Saddar. I parked my motorcycle in a ‘paid parking area’ and paid Rs50 to the attendant.

When I returned, to my surprise, the motorcycle had gone ‘missing’. It had been lifted and taken to Preedy Police Station. The area has been divided into two sections for people whose motorcycles are lifted.

One section is designated for proper lifting procedures, where one has to deposit Rs200 as ‘lifting charge’ with an official receipt. The other section has been set up near the police station just beyond a landfill, where they do not issue receipts, and charge an ‘additional fee’ apart from the official lifting charges. Unfortunately, I was directed to this second area.

When I approached the person in charge there to get my motorcycle released, he demanded Rs520. I pointed out that the charge was unfair, as I am a student and had already paid the parking charges.

I requested for reduced charges due to my financial limitations, but I was told that the instructions had come from the ‘upper management’ even though the official there refused to show any notifi-

cation to support his claim. On some further queries, he took offence, and threatened to add further penalties if I asked any further question.

Reluctantly, I paid the demanded amount, but when I asked for an official receipt, the policemen on the spot threa-

tened to impose an additional penalty. This unofficial handling suggests they may have taken the money without following the legal procedure.

The police high command or other relevant authorities must hold the black sheep in traffic police accountable for disrespecting a law-abiding citizen, misusing authority, and undermining the system by acting against official policies.

Mirza Saad Baig
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2024