"Stop traffic cops’ card games"

The cops come calling every month. After the payment is made the amount and the date is recorded on the rear side of the card which is blank. The other side generally carries some picture. If a vehicle owner has been punctual with his payments and yet is bothered by a cop all he has to do is flash the card.

When this reporter contacted a few transport company owners they said they all maintain these cards. A leading private bus service owner said: “Everything is very organised. The card is accepted everywhere…if you are caught violating any rules all you have to do is just show the card. I have been spared for parking my buses in “No Parking" zones just because I am a card-holder.”

The Dombivli RTO office, however, vehemently denied its involvement in such a racket. Senior officials said that somebody “seems to be using our name to extort money.” Jitendra Jagdale, Senior Traffic Police Inspector, Dombivli said: “This (the allegations) is the handiwork of some frustrated elements who must have been booked by my men. I know of the memorandum and the people who have signed it. They are trying to bring pressure on me as I have been strict in enforcing the law. If what they claim is right, then why don’t they bring the cards to me?”

The vehicle owners, however, are holding their cards close to their chests. None of them were willing to hand over their cards to this reporter, not even a photocopy. “We may be identified by the code numbers…and then what will happen you know,” said a trader.

The home minister will now have to decide who’s on the wrong side of the law.