2,500 vehicles rusting with Gurgaon police

Hindustan Times: Gurgaon: Wednesday, 25 November 2015.

As many as 2,500 vehicles, confiscated by the Gurgaon police in connection with criminal cases or accidents, are rusting away at different police stations in the city, according to a reply given by the police under the Right to Information Act.

The RTI plea was filed by activist Aseem Takyyar in February this year to seek information about the status of vehicles parked in Malkhana area near the Mini Secretariat.

“Many vehicles, most of them scrap, are parked near the Mini Secretariat and at various police stations. These vehicles make police stations look like junk yards. I wanted complete information about these vehicles and so I filed the RTI plea,” Takyyar said.

According to the police, 80% of these vehicles are two-wheelers. They have been kept in the open and are rusting away in the heat and the cold.

The police said these vehicles have been seized after they were used in crimes, or were abandoned or the owners did not have proper papers.

The vehicles have not been auctioned so far, but they will go under the hammer soon.

The police said most of the two-wheelers will be auctioned next month.

Another 250 to 300 vehicles will go under the hammer in the second round of auctions, which will begin on December 15.

It was after replying to the RTI plea that the police decided to auction the vehicles. The process started on November 21 and the police aim to complete it by December.

However, some of these vehicles will continue to be in police custody as the cases in which these vehicles are involved are still on in the court.

Most of the vehicles are being sold as scrap, the police said. A few of them are usable.

Talking about the auction process, Gurgaon police commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk said most of the vehicles are in a poor condition and will be sold as scrap.

“The condition of most of these vehicles is pathetic. They will be sold as scrap. Had they been auctioned earlier, they would have fetched good revenue for the department,” he said.

“The process of auctioning is time-consuming and lengthy. This is because vehicles involved in cases that are still going on will have to be exempted from the list of the vehicles to be auctioned. Vehicles which are not in a condition to be used will be auctioned as scrap. Buyers will have the option to re-register vehicles that are in a working condition,” the police chief said.