New rule: Click before you tow

Ever had your car towed away despite parking it legally? The next time that happens, ask the traffic police for photographic evidence before paying the fine.

Ever had your car towed away despite parking it legally? The next time that happens, ask the traffic police for photographic evidence before paying the fine.

HT Image

This new clause has been added to the traffic police rulebook - following complaints from harassed drivers whose vehicles were towed away from authorised parking lots - and will come into effect from Friday.

All 13 contractors that supply 58 cranes to the traffic police have been notified.

"All 58 cranes will be equipped with digital cameras and the driver of a towed vehicle won't be fined if there is no photo evidence," Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said.

"We have enough evidence of traffic police towing away vehicles from authorised parking areas. There are also instances of traffic men releasing vehicles without challaning the drivers after taking bribes from them," said a senior officer.

The photograph will have to show not just the vehicle but also its surroundings clearly, to establish it was illegally parked.

"The photographs will be saved in the master computer of the traffic control room," said Garg.

The police said the IT cell was working on making it impossible to delete the images from the cameras.