Berhampur: Number of seized two and four wheelers keep on increasing every passing day, fast turning the police stations’ premises into dead storages.
For various reasons involving accidents, robbery, murder, attempt to murder and smuggling of contrabands police have to seize two wheelers and four wheelers. Once seized, the ownership of such vehicles goes to the courts. Thereafter, if an owner of the seized vehicle wants to get back the vehicle, s/he has to take the help of an advocate in getting the vehicle released.
An owner of such vehicle can only retrieve it after the finalisation of court case. However, if the owner is convicted, the vehicle goes to the dead storage at police’s disposal, which for the trend are the police station premises.
As such vehicles are not being auctioned off or disposed; their number is increasing everyday eating up the space of police stations.
On the condition of anonymity, an ASI said, “After the hearing, court should release a notification for auction of the seized vehicles. As this is not being done, the police station premises are looking like dead storages.
There is another reason as to why the vehicle owners are reluctant to get back their seized vehicles. When they can get a new vehicle against the seizure one, why should they run pillar to post to get the seized vehicles released.
However, the question is how they are getting new vehicles against the seized ones. As their vehicles would be already insured; by depositing a copy of the FIR, they can claim for the vehicle’s insured amount from the concerned company. And since the insurance companies seem to be least bothered about the seized vehicles, and release the insured amount to their clients, the owners tend to buy new vehicles with the insurance money.
On one hand, the court is not releasing any notification for auction and on the other hand the vehicle owners’ reluctance is leaving the police in a fix.
As the polices’ responsibilities are increasing in maintaining law and order situation because of various factors, they hardly have time to take care of these vehicles.
The vehicles thus, sun and rains bathing through their dead storage days are allegedly, either getting stripped of valuable parts or are dropping dead due to negligence.
PNN
