41 high-end cars out for R-day rally impounded, owners booked

Police in Mumbai impounded 41 high-end and sports cars and booked 43 people for violating assembly orders. The cars had gathered for a rally that violated the city's ban on the assembly of more than five people. The rally was organised to mark Republic Day and was well-publicised on social media. The car owners, mostly businessmen, accused the police of high-handedness. The cars will be returned to their owners once fines are paid and other court proceedings are completed.

Mumbai: The Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) police on Friday morning impounded at least 41 high-end and sports cars and booked at least 43 people for violating unlawful assembly orders. The cars had assembled at the Jio World Drive mall, awaiting the commencement of a rally from the mall to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and back.

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The rally, organised by an event management company to mark Republic Day, violated prohibitory orders banning the assembly of more than five people in the city till February 6, said police. But the event was listed on online ticketing portal bookmyshow and well-publicised on social media.

A police team reached Jio World Drive in BKC prior to the scheduled commencement of the rally at 6am. “At least 100 cars were expected to participate in the rally. So we reached the spot beforehand and stopped the rally from beginning,” said the officer.

Cars impounded from the venue included high-end models from companies like Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi, Lamborghini, Jaguar, and BMW. The owners, mostly businessmen residing in Bandra, Khar and Andheri, as well as the rally organisers were booked under section 188 (deliberate disobedience of an order that is duly promulgated by a public servant empowered by law to do so) and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act 1951, said police.

“These owners have been taking part in the rally for the past 10 years, at various locations during Independence Day and Republic Day. They knew the procedures that are in place but still neglected to approach us for permission,” said an officer from BKC police.

Affected car owners, on the other hand, accused the police of high-handedness. “We are all upstanding and law-abiding citizens from respectable backgrounds. If the police had told us about the prohibitory orders or the lack of permission when they arrived, we would not have participated in the rally. Instead, they registered a case against us even though we did not drive,” said a car owner requesting anonymity.

All the seized cars are still parked at Jio World Drive, while police officials are working with the traffic police to complete due processes, including the computation of fines in each case.

“All cars will be checked for any signs of alterations that are not permitted. If found to be flouting norms, we will book the owners of those cars under additional sections,” said a police officer. The cars will be returned to owners after they pay necessary fines and comply with other court proceedings.