Mumbai cop yet to pay for e-challan issued in Oct 2017 for riding without helmet
The cop was issued an e-challan on October 3 for riding without helmet (Picture: Khalid Azeez)
In a development that is bound to bring some embarrassment to the police department, a Mumbai cop who was issued an e-challan for riding without a helmet in October 2017 is yet to pay for it one year later.
On October 3, 2017, an alert citizen spotted a cop riding a two-wheeler without a helmet near Apsara Cinema in Grant Road. He took a picture of the vehicle and shared details of the violation with Mumbai Police on Twitter.
To their credit, the Mumbai Police’s official Twitter handle was quick to respond with a request for additional details and got an e-challan issued against the vehicle owner immediately after receiving them.
Traffic Division has taken action against the vehicle (Echallan No: (MTPCHC1700775031)
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) October 3, 2017
The user thanked Mumbai Police for their prompt action, hoping that the errant cop will clear the fine and adhere to the rules in the future. But, one year passed by and the challan, like many others, remained unpaid.
Unfortunately for the policeman, another alert citizen noticed that the fine was pending for over a year and highlighted the issue once again last week.
“Surprisingly, they have still not paid the fine even after a year. How do u expect a citizen to pay when the police themselves don’t pay up..Just issuing challan is not the end, collect fine to avoid a repeat offence,” he wrote.
Surprisingly, they hv still not paid the fine even after a year, how do u expect citizen to pay when police themselves don’t pay up, sorry state of affairs n nobody to check this nonsense, just issuing challan is not the end, collect fine to avoid repeat offence @nitin_gadkari pic.twitter.com/3iOlGO28xu
— Jitu (@jituk9) October 18, 2018
Although Mumbai Police’s official handle is yet to respond to the tweet, several other users have lauded the user for his rigorous followup.
Mumbai Traffic Police has reportedly issued over 53 lakh e-challans amounting to Rs 172 crore in penalties since the system was introduced in 2016. However, less than one-third of the penalty amount has been paid till date.
Even as the department is looking at additional avenues to increase the recovery, the fact that its own officials are yet to clear fines raises serious questions about how easy it is for people to get away with non-payment in the absence of strict enforcement.
The e-challan has not been paid for as of October 21, 2017
