Fake Traffic Cases - Kolkata Traffic Police

[Razor]

Kolkata traffic police has a habit of registering fake traffic cases against vehicles. (besides stopping ambulances to let politicians pass) Now a days they are sending sms on the mobile when a case is registered against your vehicles. One can then check the details of the cases in the kolkatatrafficpolice.net website. Last I checked there were no less than 17 pending cases against my vehicle for the period of almost 3 yrs and most of the are totally fake. All these cases are minor cases like violating the stop line , or the yellow light etc and each one amounts to a fine of Rs 100.
These cases or "citations" remain with the police for 15 days during which one can pay them online . After than they are lodged with the courts and are payable at court only.
On enquiry I found that courts settle these cases in Lok Adalats which are held periodically.

A visit to the fb page shows that many people are now challenging these fake citations by ?? messaging and sometimes , the cases are removed.



What I want to know is how do I know when these lok adalats are held and what is the procedure of settling them?

 

[gearhead2]

Kolkata traffic police has a habit of registering fake traffic cases against vehicles. (besides stopping ambulances to let politicians pass) Now a days they are sending sms on the mobile when a case is registered against your vehicles. One can then check the details of the cases in the kolkatatrafficpolice.net website. Last I checked there were no less than 17 pending cases against my vehicle for the period of almost 3 yrs and most of the are totally fake. All these cases are minor cases like violating the stop line , or the yellow light etc and each one amounts to a fine of Rs 100.
These cases or "citations" remain with the police for 15 days during which one can pay them online . After than they are lodged with the courts and are payable at court only.
On enquiry I found that courts settle these cases in Lok Adalats which are held periodically.
A visit to the fb page shows that many people are now challenging these fake citations by ?? messaging and sometimes , the cases are removed.
What I want to know is how do I know when these lok adalats are held and what is the procedure of settling them?

Thank you for this important info, Razor. We have been contemplating buying a vehicle in Kolkata for a while and this info will also go into the digestive system & will be kept in mind!

 

[Razor]

Kolkata traffic police is going overboard with these fake traffic citations. Here is a cutout from a leading bengali daily only a few days back. It says that the owner of the car received a citation for traffic rule violation on 21 September 2013 , when his car was registered only on 15.02.2015!! Not only that ,the car received 4 citations of which one is signal violation , the rest 3 are for "Not Wearing Helmet" . Incidentally the owner has a Wogon R VXI. So all Wagon R owners in Kolkata ..next time dont forget your helmet when you go out.

Thank you for this important info, Razor. We have been contemplating buying a vehicle in Kolkata for a while and this info will also go into the digestive system & will be kept in mind!

As far as I have found out , if you drive around frequently in the city , you are bound to attract 5-6 citations on an average per year irrespective of whether. you are guilty or not. That means a "hafta" of Rs 500 / year to Kolkata traffic police.

The favorites are

1. STOP line violation in places where there is no line painted.
2. Yellow light violation - the traffic lights in Kolkata change from green to yellow and then red in 2 secs max. So if anyone is approaching the crossing when green @ 30 km / hour even , he has a maximum amount of 2 secs to come to a standstill before the lights change to red , which is impossible in most cases without causing the car immediately behind you to crash into your car.

Of course most of the cases being fake , all these dont matter really.
On 2-3 occassions I have received sms of citation when I am 70-80 km away from the spot and not even within the city limits (since my workplace is located outside the city)

 

[gearhead2]

As far as I have found out , if you drive around frequently in the city , you are bound to attract 5-6 citations on an average per year irrespective of whether. you are guilty or not. That means a "hafta" of Rs 500 / year to Kolkata traffic police.
The favorites are
1. STOP line violation in places where there is no line painted.
2. Yellow light violation - the traffic lights in Kolkata change from green to yellow and then red in 2 secs max. So if anyone is approaching the crossing when green @ 30 km / hour even , he has a maximum amount of 2 secs to come to a standstill before the lights change to red , which is impossible in most cases without causing the car immediately behind you to crash into your car.
Of course most of the cases being fake , all these dont matter really.
On 2-3 occassions I have received sms of citation when I am 70-80 km away from the spot and not even within the city limits (since my workplace is located outside the city)

Thanks again, Razor! This definitely put into proper perspective one of the hazards of vehicle ownership in Kolkata. After the Saradha sting scam, if police corruption is also a serious issue, will Didi have any support base left among the larger population? I used to be a supporter of hers but all this is giving us food for thought.

 

[AbhisekVerma]

This happens with Bangalore police also. I have been a victim once.

 

[wildsdi]

you cannot blame them. At least in Bangalore. How else can they meet their targets? Cops in Bangalore have to register a particular number of cases every month. They also have deadlines and targets. Be happy you are not fostered with rape cases or murder cases.
Also cops need to show revenue to fill the state coffers. Tax alone is not enough. This means fake cases have to be registered.
At least in Kolkotta, they are taking back the cases.

 

[gearhead2]

you cannot blame them. At least in Bangalore. How else can they meet their targets? Cops in Bangalore have to register a particular number of cases every month. They also have deadlines and targets. Be happy you are not fostered with rape cases or murder cases.
Also cops need to show revenue to fill the state coffers. Tax alone is not enough. This means fake cases have to be registered.
At least in Kolkotta, they are taking back the cases.

"You cannot blame them"! Are you serious? You live in Bangalore & you are happy to be an interested bystander after knowing so much about the mechanics of police administration there? And here we had UP being saddled with the Wild West lawlessness reputation! At least the locals had the good sense to elect a new govt. - and by most accounts Yogiji is seriously giving attention to the problem.

 

[AbhisekVerma]

you cannot blame them. At least in Bangalore. How else can they meet their targets? Cops in Bangalore have to register a particular number of cases every month. They also have deadlines and targets. Be happy you are not fostered with rape cases or murder cases.
Also cops need to show revenue to fill the state coffers. Tax alone is not enough. This means fake cases have to be registered.
At least in Kolkotta, they are taking back the cases.

This is the most idiotic comment I have heard. Are you uneducated or have a traffic cop in your house? How can you justify fake cases? And FYI registering a rape/murder case is not as easy as registering a fake parking case. And it can't be done by a traffic police. Accordng to you if my money needs are more than my salary then it should be fine if I loot money or steal things. Utter nonsense.
If they can't genuinely meet their targets they have to fight back their leaders instead of doing this crimes. Otherwise every year targets will increase and I won't see any difference in a traffic cop and a roadside awara uneducated goon. Hardly they are concerned about monitoring traffic which is why they get recruited and paid.

 

[Arijitb]

Well - TAI Members of Kolkata - Do you feel discomfort when driving in the wide (3 Lane atleast) Road and suddenly there is 'GO SLow' Divider / Barricade in the Middle of the Road (3 of them) and cause huge Traffic Que in Peak hours..?

Car / Bus start moving here and there in Zig Zag Style....Why make 3 Lane Wide Road ?

 

[Razor]

Originally Posted by wildsdi
you cannot blame them. At least in Bangalore. How else can they meet their targets? Cops in Bangalore have to register a particular number of cases every month. They also have deadlines and targets. Be happy you are not fostered with rape cases or murder cases.
Also cops need to show revenue to fill the state coffers. Tax alone is not enough. This means fake cases have to be registered.
At least in Kolkotta, they are taking back the cases.

Hopefully that was said as a sarcasm?
I have heard of the same case of meeting targets for the kolkata traffic police too , but that they can easily meet by booking the true offenders as there is no dearth of them on the roads and NOT by making fake cases against honorable people. On the road on a given day there are plenty of drivers not wearing seat belts (particularly the taxis, shuttle cars), buses, trucks and vans without headlamps , broken tail lamps ,rash driving (by autorickshaws), parking violations, bikes without helmets and I am sure many people driving without valid PUC . But for that the police have to actually check them. Who wants to work when one can get away by registering fake cases against random vehicles?

Originally Posted by Arijitb
Well - TAI Members of Kolkata - Do you feel discomfort when driving in the wide (3 Lane atleast) Road and suddenly there is 'GO SLow' Divider / Barricade in the Middle of the Road (3 of them) and cause huge Traffic Que in Peak hours..?

Car / Bus start moving here and there in Zig Zag Style....Why make 3 Lane Wide Road ?

Another recent development by the Kolkata traffic police!Very true that and the reason of which I will never be able to imagine. Partially blocking the middle of the road with barricades is usually done at night to discourage rash driving (as has been the usual practice) but to do that at the height of rush hours is really confusing?

 

[Arijitb]

Another recent development by the Kolkata traffic police!Very true that and the reason of which I will never be able to imagine. Partially blocking the middle of the road with barricades is usually done at night to discourage rash driving (as has been the usual practice) but to do that at the height of rush hours is really confusing?

Well now Large Vehicles such as Truck (as well Bus) drive in the Middle of the Road and they don't give any pass to overtake them - Earlier Truck Moves in Extreme Right near divider so that Cars / SUV can move little better pace. Same Goes to Bus they move left side when picking up the passenger - but now if they do they can't steer clear the divider, hence they stop in the middle of the road.

Unnessacery STOP and Chaos now directly impact into Kolkata's Pollution LEVEL (Sound and Air). Congratulation to KTP by making Kolkata much more Greener.

 

[wildsdi]

there are plenty of drivers not wearing seat belts (particularly the taxis, shuttle cars), buses, trucks and vans without headlamps , broken tail lamps ,rash driving (by autorickshaws), parking violations, bikes without helmets and I am sure many people driving without valid PUC .

Taxis and buses are owned by large corporates or by associations which pay a hefty bribe to the department. Same with autos too. No cop dares to pull over a BMTC bus or Ola/ Uber cab. Bikers are too numerous and not wise investments. Best to catch the private car driver who occasionally breaks a stop line or jumps a signal as he is the one most likely to pay the fine and fill the state coffers. It's purely business. no unwanted risk taken.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

Friends I don't have bike neither I ever drive a bike. But I see majority of bikers pass a stationary bus at stop by left side, the side used by passengers to alight. Each time I get down from a bus look behind whether any biker following me. This habit of overtaking a bus by left side may cause serious accident. The bikers may say why this practice prevails.

 

[AbhisekVerma]

Friends I don't have bike neither I ever drive a bike. But I see majority of bikers pass a stationary bus at stop by left side, the side used by passengers to alight. Each time I get down from a bus look behind whether any biker following me. This habit of overtaking a bus by left side may cause serious accident. The bikers may say why this practice prevails.

This practice prevails because the buses have a habit to stop at the middle of the road. The buses don't even use indicators before hand to let the bikes move to the right. Some bikers are wrong but most bus walas are.