Car park contractor booked for charging trucker ₹40,000 for 18 days

A private contractor of a car park facility in Rajiv Chowk was booked on charges of extortion for allegedly charging a trucker ₹40,000 for parking his impounded vehicle at the lot for 18 days. The contractor was charging ₹100 per tyre per day, against a maximum charge of ₹100 per vehicle per day

A private contractor of a car park facility in Rajiv Chowk was booked on charges of extortion for allegedly charging a trucker ₹40,000 for parking his impounded vehicle at the lot for 18 days.

Gurugram sees a heavy presence of trucks as the NH-48 passes through it. In the case, a truck was impounded for overloading and the vehicle parked at the facility as the trucker did not have funds to pay the penalty. (Representational image/HT Archive)

According to the police, the truck of a Rajasthan resident was impounded for overloading and the vehicle was parked at the lot. The contractor was charging ₹100 per tyre per day, against a maximum charge of ₹100 per vehicle per day, and threatening users of police action if they refused to pay.

The contractor and attendants of the private car park, located opposite the deputy commissioner’s office at Rajiv Chowk, were booked under sections 384 (extortion) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at the Shivaji Nagar police station. No arrests have been made so far.

Abhay Singh Yadav, a resident of Kotputli in Rajasthan who is a building material supplier, said that his truck was impounded for overloading on October 1 and was parked at the Rajiv Chowk facility. “Due to the pandemic, I have suffered losses and had no money to pay the penalty. I had mortgaged my wife’s gold jewellery to take a loan and visited the officials and paid the penalty. When I went to take my truck, the contractor asked me to pay ₹39,600; I was shocked by the amount he demanded,” he said.

He said that the contractor told him that the charges were ₹100 per tyre per day, which amounted to ₹2,200 a day as his vehicle was a 22-wheeler. However, the contractor refused to share any official contract details specifying the charges, Yadav said.

Preet Pal Sangwan, the assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that Yadav returned home as he did not have the money and returned after two days. “The parking charges had increased to ₹41,800 by then and after negotiations, the driver agreed to pay ₹40,000 for the truck. Later, he complained to the police regarding the extortion racket by the private contractor, following which a probe was launched,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts, the contractor could not be reached for comment.

According to the deputy commissioner’s order, contractors can only charge ₹100 per day per vehicle, the police said.

Sangwan said the contractor did not give the trucker a receipt for the same and refused to provide any kind of acknowledgement for the money that was paid in cash and online transactions.