Auction of unclaimed vehicles fetches Ludhiana police ₹1.04 crore

A total of 154 bidders took part in the auction

The auction of 1,705 unclaimed vehicles on Tuesday fetched the Ludhiana police Rs 1.04 crore.

Police personnel conducting the auction of 2,200 unclaimed vehicles, of which 1,705 were sold, at police lines in Ludhiana on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

A total of 154 bidders took part in the auction for unclaimed vehicles dumped at the police lines and various police stations.

Commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal said the police had decided on Rs 83,50,900 as reserve price for the 1,705 unclaimed vehicles. The bidders offered Rs 1,04,72,500 in all, which was Rs 21,21,600 more than the reserve price.

Police had invited bids for around 2,200 unclaimed vehicles, including motorcycles, scooters, cars, jeeps, trucks and three-wheelers. The left out vehicles will be sold soon.

The auction was held under the supervision of a committee of six officials, including joint commissioner of police (rural) Kanwardeep Kaur, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Sukhpal Singh Brar, assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Gurdev Singh, regional transport secretary Sandeep Singh Ghara, Punjab Roadways manager Manpreet Singh Sahota and District Industries Centre superintendent Tara Singh.

The process was initiated in October 2019 to free up space at the police stations. Expected to be completed by May 2020, it was delayed due to the Covid-19 lockdown. With restrictions being lifted, police started returning recovered articles to residents.

On October 30, as many as 239 vehicles, 213 mobile phones and Rs 6.74 lakh in cash was returned to residents at Government College for Girls. According to police, they have so far returned property worth Rs 4 crore.