Police To Start Drive Against Mechanics and Garages Modifying Bikes/Cars!

With the Supreme Court of India outlawing use of modified vehicles in India, the administration and government are all set to start operation against car and bike modification companies. And leading the way is Bangalore traffic police which now plans to act against mechanics and garages responsible for modifying cars and bikes. Such is the will of the local administration in the city to get things in order that it has prepared a detailed blueprint to first track down the source of these modified cars and bikes and then the garages and mechanics skilled in modifying vehicles.

Motivating the police in this operation are the growing complaints bike stunts as well as drag racing being held around the city. Commenting on the subject, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Harishekaran P. said:

 “Come Friday, we will launch a strict enforcement drive to curb drag racing. The traffic police will locate spots where drag races take place and will nab people who participate. Not only riders, but we will also go to different automobile engineering stations, garages, mechanics and those involved in the modification of cars and bikes to warn them,”

This, however, is not the first instance of overzealous efforts by the Bangalore police to curb use of custom vehicles. The city traffic police department has been conducting special drives to crackdown on people popping wheelies and drag racing. Now, it is expanding the scope of such operations and hence not only the riders but even mechanics and garages are on its target. The next part of the plan is to subject them to interrogation to get information on riders using custom bikes and cars or participating in drag races and stunts. Such is the expanse of the operation that the police will also keep a tab on social media handles in a lookout for complaints of stunting and drag races.

Harishekaran said that it will be easier for the police to arrest people responsible behind all this if people tag them with a picture and a clear registration number on social media platforms. He added to his previous statement and said that the operation to curb such practices is pretty serious and hence there will be no fines this time. Instead, a court case will be booked immediately and the owner will be arrested. He further added:

“All the drag racers will be caught and questioned about other drag racers they know. Though we have seen a comparative decrease in cases from last year, it’s high time we put an end to this,” he added

We expect that this is not a Bangalore-specific trend and soon police departs across the country are expected to follow suit. It is no doubt a tough time for modification enthusiasts as well as experts who have made a name for themselves in the business. On the other hand, performing stunts is altogether different game. According to Indian laws, popping a wheelie on open public road is a punishable offence. This is because performing stunts in public roads can result in accidents with fellow road users. About the mechanics and garages that prepare modified vehicles, the police have not given a clear statement upon whether they will penalize them too or just leave them after warning.