With an aim to address traffic issues, encroachment and security concerns, the Ghaziabad police have initiated a drive to warn vehicle owners of losing out on insurance claims if they are found parking at unauthorised places.
In the drive, police officers will issue warnings to vehicle owners to remove their vehicles parked at unauthorised places for a long time, at the failure of which the vehicles will be seized and in cases of theft of such vehicles, the case diary filed by the police will mention that the owner was negligent, denying the owner any insurance claim. The police said the drive will be taken up with the help of resident welfare associations (RWA) and apartment owners’ associations (AOA).
Police said they are sticking bills on vehicles parked at undesignated places for long to caution owners of such vehicles. The bills, officers said, mention a deadline, at the expiry of which the vehicles will be seized and further legal process will be taken which will deny them insurance claim in case of thefts.
“The initiative has been taken up on the request of residents. On our part, we are sticking bills on such vehicles and keeping a record of details of such vehicles. If such a vehicle is not removed within a week from the date of sticking the bill, it will be seized and legal action will be initiated. At any time in the future, if a vehicle owner approaches us to lodge an FIR for theft or such cases of the said vehicle, we will mention in the case diary that the owner was negligent,” said Shlok Kumar, superintendent of police (city).
{{/usCountry}}“The initiative has been taken up on the request of residents. On our part, we are sticking bills on such vehicles and keeping a record of details of such vehicles. If such a vehicle is not removed within a week from the date of sticking the bill, it will be seized and legal action will be initiated. At any time in the future, if a vehicle owner approaches us to lodge an FIR for theft or such cases of the said vehicle, we will mention in the case diary that the owner was negligent,” said Shlok Kumar, superintendent of police (city).
{{/usCountry}}“This way, he will not be able to claim insurance. The RWAs and AOAs have been roped in for the second part of the drive. The associations have put up notices on their respective notice boards and have set a deadline for residents to respond. If such vehicles are found parked in parking lots of highrises or open spaces beyond the deadline, they will be seized and taken away,” he added.
One such initiative was taken up by the residents of Paramount Symphony highrise in the Crossings Republik area.
“In coordination with the police, we put up a notice on the notice board and gave residents one week’s time, during which about 15 vehicles were removed by owners. These were parked in parking lots in the basement and open areas of highrises and had been parked for the past several months. Such vehicles could be a potential security threat and are a persistent problem in many highrises across the city,” said Kshitiz Singhal, a resident and volunteer of a citizen volunteer force group run by the police.
The police said similar problems persist in highrise and malls, etc. of area like Indirapuram, Vaishali and other similar localities.
“The problem has been discussed with police officers and we have also started identifying such vehicles. Recently, a list of three-four highrises was given to the police, which have presence of unclaimed vehicles since last couple of years. In many instances, residents found that owners from outside come and park their cars in basements of highrises. After some days, they are taken away,” said Alok Kumar, president of the federation of AOA.
“It is also possible that thieves could be hiding such vehicles in highrises and taking them away after police pressure subsides. So, it is vital that such vehicles are seized and taken away by the police. Legal action should also follow. In public places, such vehicles are a major cause of encroachment and traffic issues,” he added.