Cops check commuters' licences in Bengaluru.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Following a special drive against wheelie riders, the traffic police registered a total of 91 cases as of March 1.
The drive was conducted between February 21 and 29 across the city. Traffic police booked 91 offenders, seized 74 modified two-wheelers, and arrested 59 people. During the drive, they found that 24 wheelie drivers were minors under the age of 18 and therefore booked their parents. Action has been taken against 23 such guardians.
Besides, the traffic police have sent 18 driver's licences and 38 certificates of registration (RCs) to regional transport offices (RTOs) for cancellation.
Over the past few years, the traffic police have been undertaking drives to nab wheelie riders. According to data from the traffic police, they registered 552 cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 120 cases under the Indian Motor Vehicles Act (IMV) between 2021 and 2023. Action was taken against a total of 674 people in these cases.
M N Anucheth, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru, noted that wheelie cases were tricky to deal with because of the dangers of chasing violators on the road.
"I have instructed the officers not to chase any wheelie rider because it will risk the safety of both the rider and the officer. They record the violation and go to the registered address to seize the vehicle and take further action," he told DH. Police also comb through social media accounts to trace violators.
The only way to increase the deterrence effect is to make it prohibitively expensive to do wheelies, he added.
"We book riders and vehicle owners under IPC and section 189 of the IMV (racing and trails of speed), and also book minors' parents, besides seizing their vehicles. We are also booking them under the Criminal Procedure Code, under which when produced before a local magistrate, they are also made to sign a bond between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. If forfeited, they will have to pay up," he said.