No check on plying of illegally modified vehicles on highways

Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh/Payal/Raikot, April 23

Illegal modification of vehicles, including abandoned motorcycles, and their rampant use to transport goods and passengers on highways goes unabated in the region.

While workshop owners and mechanics have been doing brisk business of illegally modifying abandoned motorcycles bought from scrap dealers openly, thousands of people have been running these on highways in gross violation of the Motor Vehicle Act and Section 188 of the IPC with impunity.

No action has yet been taken against any of the violators despite loss of many lives in accidents involving illegally modified vehicles. Only yesterday, four persons were killed and an equal number seriously injured while they were travelling in a trailer and a reaper hooked to a tractor on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla highway.

Perusal of a communication received at all police offices of the region from the ADGP (Traffic), Amardeep Singh Rai, revealed that the people had been buying abandoned motorcycles at cheap rates from scrap dealers and getting these condemned vehicles modified into ‘rehris’. These ‘rehris’ are used for ferrying people and goods, including cement, metallic bars and electronic items.

Carrying crackers and explosives in modified motorcycle rehris is also no exception as majority of dealers supply these for firework shows during weddings and celebrations.

Ravinder Singh of Sumalkheri was killed when a stock of crackers being carried from Malaudh to Amloh in a ‘motorcycle rehri’ exploded due to a jump a year ago. Another rider Surinder Singh was also seriously injured in the incident. The Amloh police had registered a case under the Explosive Act while ignoring the validity of the vehicle.

Besides, a large number of stolen and snatched motorcycles had also been bought by workshop owners and mechanics at cheap rates from scrap dealers of the region. On an average a mechanic charges Rs. 20,000 to 25,000 for modifying a motorcycle into a ‘rehri’. Sound systems for playing music are also installed on extra payment on such modified vehicles.

Then Police Commissioner (CP), Ludhiana, Rakesh Aggarwal, had launched a drive against users and manufacturers of illegally modified vehicles in December 2019 in which hundreds of violators, including workshop owners and mechanics, were booked.

Now, the ADGP (Traffic), Amardeep Singh Rai, has asked chiefs of various police districts and ranges to launch a special drive against illegally modified vehicles, which pose danger to lives of violators and residents.

Meanwhile, officials of the Industrial Department showed ignorance about workshops undertaking modification of vehicles, including motorcycles. “Neither has any workshop owner approached us for seeking permission to modify vehicles nor does the department have any provision to allow such modifications,” said an official of Ludhiana district.

Police personnel deployed at various nakas denied having challaned riders of modified vehicles during past months. “Though we have not acted against owners of any such vehicle, but we will now impound these under Section 207 of the Motor Vehicle Act,” said subdivision traffic in-charge Kulwant Singh.