PESHAWAR, Nov 28: In sheer violation of the laid down laws and civic norms, the police have started patrolling the city’s roads in private taxi cars with fixing hooter on its top without paying a single penny to the drivers.

“We do not pay the money and instead issue a special slip from the police department for their one-day duty as volunteers. Before Eid, no police official will check the taxi documents nor receive ‘Eidi’ from the drivers having performed the duty. Its a special Ramazan package for the private taxi drivers,” said two cops near Darvash mosque intersection here on Thursday.

The two constables of the Cantonment police station, said they had been instructed by their DSP Nasirul Mulk Bangash to get the services of a  private taxis to maintain the law and order situation.

But it was observed that for the last three weeks the cops sit in the car with a sleeping postures and they just switch on the hooter without voice in an attempt to maintain the law and order.

On a query the police officials said: “In police terminology it is called begar (no fare for using the taxi).” They claimed that the driver was happy as the hole month of the Ramazan no police official would either challan him nor receive ‘Eidi’ from him  on presenting the ‘volunteer duty’ slip.

The disgruntled driver said they were forced to abide by unlawful demands of the police as otherwise it would be difficult for them to ply the taxi on the roads.

The driver said: “He pays Rs 200 daily to the owner of the taxi and today I would pay the money from my pocket. But hopefully I will make up the loss tomorrow,” he said in an optimistic tune.

He lamented that several drivers had left the private taxi business due to the police highhandedness. The law-enforcement agencies’ personnel forcibly using the taxi even for their personnel work, but no taxi driver could dare to demand for the fare, he maintained.

Using the public transport by the police without paying money to the drivers is a comment practice. But it is for the first time that the police are using private taxi for patrolling the city in a bid to maintain the law and order.