Seeing the roadsides and the premises of some government offices crowded with confiscated vehicles, don’t be under the impression that the issue is not being ‘considered’ by the authorities. Vehicles which are free from legal hurdles are being auctioned by the police.
The City Police, after the UDF Government came to power, have conducted three auctions of old and rusting vehicles and earned Rs 36.5 lakh for the state exchequer. Around 570 vehicles were sold in these auctions.
The first auction was done subsequent to the 100-day programme of the Government after it was declared that the rusting vehicles would be auctioned soon. Later, the other auctions were held.
“We confiscate the vehicles which are abandoned by the owners. Sometimes, people abandon vehicles when they are chased by the police. They are mostly those that carry illicit liquor or engaged in smuggling,” said City Police Commissioner T J Jose.
The auction is done by a board comprising an officer of the Police Department, one from the Public Works Department, an engineer and a vehicle expert. The price of each vehicle which would be auctioned is fixed by the board taking into consideration the model and the condition of each vehicle. The date and place of auction are published in the gazette.
In the Rural limits too, the auction was held three times. “In the case of vehicles smuggling sand or illicit liquor, we have to get the sanction from the District Collector for the auction. If the vehicles are unclaimed, I can give the orders,” said A J Thomaskutty, Superintendent of Police, Thiruvananthapuram Rural District.
Then, which are the vehicles seen on the roadsides that are mostly ‘interpreted’ as in the possession of the police? Well, the police, like the pedestrians and onlookers who sympathise about the vehicles, are also helpless about such vehicles. The reason is very simple and the procedure complicated. “Such vehicles are mostly those involved in accident cases. As long as the trials of the cases go on, the police cannot confiscate them,” said the Commissioner.
Excise Cases
Vehicles are also seized by the Excise Department, apart from the police. Excise officials say that they are immediately shifted to yards at the Vamanapuram and Chirayinkeezhu Excise Ranges.
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