Cops on house calls for fines get excuses

PUNE: Mahadev Jadhav was a little surprised when police naik RS Nigade stood outside his house with a notice from the traffic branch of the Pune police to recover pending fines amounting to Rs 2,400 for 12 traffic violations registered in his name.
After several minutes of a back and forth conversation, Jadhav, a Sahakarnagar resident, finally sought two days to pay the fines.He said that his friend has been using the vehicle registered in his name.
The traffic branch has decided to knock on the offenders’ door to collect fines when they do not pay up. Nigade, upon reaching the house, verified the name and the vehicle registration number.
“I had the two-wheeler registered on my name for a friend. He is using the vehicle and paying the EMIs. I had received messages about the traffic violations which I duly forwarded to my him. It seems he has ignored them,” Jadhav told Nigade.
Nigade had to leave providing Jadhav with a two-day window to pay the fine. “We do not know whether it actually is his friend who is using the vehicle which is registered in Jadhav’s name. We have given him one last chance to pay the pending fine in two days failing which the matter will go to court. I have got an acknowledgement signed by him so he cannot deny that we visited him or the chance given to him. Since the vehicle is on Jadhav’s name, he will be taken to court,”he said.
A similar scene unfolded with Narpad Parmar, who runs Parmar Glasses near Upper Indiranagar depot. When Nigade arrived at the store and verified the vehicle number, Parmar said his is a second-hand vehicle that his brother uses. With 17 violations registered on this vehicle registration number, Parmar had to pay Rs 4,200 as fines .
Parmar told Nigade, “We purchased the vehicle from a Mahesh Jain but he has not yet given us the registration certificate book. My brother is using the vehicle but he is in hospital down with dengue. I do not have cash or a card at the moment. ”
Nigade handed Parmar a copy of the written notice issued by the traffic branch and told him to pay the fine by 6pm on Wednesday to avoid further action. After reading the notice, Parmar produced a card and agreed to pay the fine. Nigade swiped the card on the POS machine..
The collection of fines has been an experience, Nigade said. People are defensive when the cops visit their houses to recover the fines. “They almost never own up. We have photographic evidence from the CCTV cameras attached to the notice along with the list of violations. Despite the stark proof, people engage in arguments and tried to wriggle out. People tell us to reduce the fine amount,” he said.
Senior citizen Shashikant Shelar cleared his fines by visiting the Bibvewadi police station on Wednesday. “I live in Bibvewadi now but my vehicle was registered at my previous address. I was not aware of the traffic violations or the mounting fines. My son called to inform me about the fines . I had 14 offences and paid Rs 2,800. This is a very good initiative. We will now be more careful while driving.”