Constable files PIL on corruption in Traffic Police; seeks FIR

A public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay High Court by a head constable alleging rampant corruption in the police's traffic department and seeking registration of an FIR besides a departmental inquiry against the corrupt officials.
The PIL has been filed by Mumbai head constable Sunil Toke, who is currently attached with Armed Police Force, Worli division.
Toke, who joined service in 1985, was posted with the Goregaon traffic police and then the Wadala traffic police during 2013-2016.
The petition states that during his tenure at the traffic department he was shocked and surprised to see rampant corruption there.

Listing examples, he has said,"The traffic police take money from trucks which ply sand illegally, trucks which evade octroi, trucks which carry construction material, illegal parking, drunken driving and so on," the petition alleged.
It claimed that the traffic police department collects Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 from four star and five star hotels for allowing illegal parking.

"There are thousands of illegal taxis and auto rickshaws plying in the city without requisite permissions. The traffic police collect Rs 1000-2000 from each such vehicle every month and allows them to ply," the petition claimed.
It alleged that when 'nakabandi' is done for drunken driving, out of 50 cases only five to ten are registered officially and the offenders persecuted. "In the other cases, amounts of Rs 10000 to Rs 50000 are taken by the traffic police depending on who the offender is," the petition said.

The petition has sought a direction to senior authorities to lodge a FIR against the corrupt traffic police officials named in the petitioner's complaint and also for departmental inquiry to be initiated and appropriate action taken against them.
Toke in his petition has also submitted a list of complaints against certain policemen of the traffic department. The petition will be taken up for hearing in due course.