A Mumbai Police head constable filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Bombay High Court on December 28 last year alleging widespread corruption in the traffic department of the police. He also sought a registration of an FIR and departmental inquiry against the corrupt officials.
The PIL has been filed by Sunil Toke who is currently a member of the Armed Police Force in Worli division.
In his petition, Toke stated that he was surprised as well as shocked after seeing the rampant corruption practised there.
“The traffic police charge money from trucks that illegally carry sand and other construction materials. At an average, each vehicle pays Rs 200 to Rs 500,” Toke said to The Logical Indian.
The PIL also claimed that at least Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 is taken from four-star and five-star hotels to give permission for illegal parking.
The petition maintained that the illegal taxis and auto-rickshaws that ply in the city pay Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 to the traffic police so that they can operate freely.
Toke also mentioned that whenever there is a blockade to check on drunk driving, hardly five or ten cases gets registered out of 50 cases. The police let go most of the offenders after collecting Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 from them, depending on who the person is.
The petition has been filed asking the senior authorities to register an FIR against the crooked traffic police officials named in the complaint and also for the departmental inquiry to be initiated and appropriate action taken against them.
The petition is scheduled for a hearing at the Bombay High Court on January 23.
The Logical Indian hopes that stern action is initiated against the alleged police officials if found guilty. Not just Mumbai, we witness such practices in different cities. Cases we leave today with a small bribe as fine are what will lead to severe accidents and deaths in future. We should have mechanisms to end such corrupt practices.
