Police stations start task of shifting old, abandoned vehicles to Sarangpur

Thousands of vehicles often end up staying parked for years in various police stations as case properties related to thefts, road accidents, unclaimed found vehicles or for being involved in heinous crimes. Apart from these, the police stations often end up housing vehicles, which are abandoned by their owners for not being in running conditions after being involved in an incident.

The decision to shift these vehicles to the IRB Complex in Sarangpur, which is spread in hundreds of acres of land, was taken by DGP Praveer Ranjan.

Sources said in the first phase, only two-wheelers are being transported from the premises of police stations to Sarangpur. In the second phase, four-wheelers will be shifted, for which the police stations will rope in heavy machinery and vehicles, like cranes and trucks etc.

The police, in the meanwhile, has also decided to intimate the owners to take custody of their vehicles shortly. There are 17 police stations, including one all-woman police station in Chandigarh.

Of the 17, the vehicles had piled up in at least 16 police stations, with certain stations — like Mani Majra, PS 34, PS 39, PS 17 — having hundreds of vehicles parked inside their premises respectively over the years that had become an eyesore.

UT police spokesman, DSP Ram Gopal, said, “DGP Praveer Ranjan had last week issued instructions to complete the process of shifting vehicles in 15 days last week. The work for the same has started. More than 450 vehicles have been shifted to IRB, Sarangpur so far. Besides the vehicles parked at various police stations, there are around 3,000 vehicles parked at traffic police lines and Children Traffic Park. These will also be shifted to Sarangpur..”

On August 28, a one-man police reform commission had submitted its report to then UT Administrator, VP Singh Badnore, recommending the establishment of reception corners for visitors, and complainants in every police station. The report was forwarded to DGP Praveer Ranjan for implementation later.