Bengaluru: 09, Mohan Kumar Danappa, a member of the Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority, has written a letter to the state DG and IGP, requesting them to immediately stop the harassment of motorists by the Home Guard and Armed Police Force personnel under the pretext of illegal vehicle checks in the state, issue necessary warnings and issue strict orders not to conduct illegal vehicle checks!
Under the Motor Vehicles Act-1988 and the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules-1989, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI) and above have the power to inspect vehicles and impose fines on violators of traffic rules, and to take action against traffic violations, police constables and head constables are allowed to issue traffic challans based on the FTVR report and FTVR notices can be issued as per Section 133 of the Motor Vehicles Act, but the Home Guard personnel and the Station House Officers of the respective stations and the Armed Forces police personnel who are on duty as drivers of patrol vehicles, who do not have any
authority, use government vehicles in the absence of the officers to illegally stop and inspect public vehicles, take away the keys of public vehicles and threaten to register a case, atrocities, assaults, harassment on vehicle drivers, There are reports of personal arrests of Home Guard and Armed Police personnel, who are illegally inspecting all vehicles on the road, using derogatory language and engaging in arguments in public places, using abusive language, and illegally collecting money from the public at check posts in rural districts, apart from urban areas, in deserted areas of rural and urban areas, and on state and national highways, in the absence of officers. The public, aggrieved by the abuse of power and misconduct of the said personnel, have expressed their anger against the said move and against the personnel of the police department. Taking the above points seriously, Mohan Kumar Danappa, a member of the State Police Complaints Authority, has stated in a letter to the DGP of the state that, except for the officers specified in the Motor Vehicles Act, the personnel of the Home Guard and all units of the Armed Police Force under the jurisdiction of the State Police Department should issue strict appropriate orders/circulars not to stop or check public and any other vehicles and that the above-mentioned misconduct should not be repeated and that necessary warnings should be given to the personnel during the daily roll call at the respective stations and units.
