Amdavad no Rickshawwalo : Who broke traffic rules 115 times
Habitual offender Pradeep Shrimali : Pic : JIGNESH VORA
Habitual offender Pradeep Shrimali continues to ferry passengers despite being issued the latest e-memo for jumping the red light on Friday; he has unpaid fine of Rs 32,500
He has the dubious distinction of being Ahmedabad’s top traffic offender. Vadaj-based autorickshaw driver Pradeep Shrimali (42) has 115 traffic violations to his name, including the latest offence that he committed a couple of days ago on Friday when he jumped the red signal. And he has been caught by the CCTV cameras jumping the red light over a hundred times.
With increasing traffic awareness among commuters, there has been a steady decline in the number of e-challans being issued to traffic violators since January. But that has not stopped habitual offenders like Shrimali from breaking the law with impunity.
Shrimali has accrued a fine amount of Rs 38,300 against 115 e-memos issued to him. He has paid Rs 5,800 against 16 e-memos issued to him, while 99 ememos amounting to Rs 32,500 remain unpaid.
The 42-year-oldauto driver has been caught breaking the traffic rules while ferrying passengers on the stretch between Paldi and Vadaj which he frequents.
The majority of e-memos (102) of the total 115 issued to Shrimali has been for jumping the red light. Four memos were issued for jumping the stop line, four for carrying passengers on the driver’s seat and wrong parking attracted him five offences.
After driving a rented autorickshaw for two years, Shrimali purchased a pre-owned autorickshaw for Rs 42,000 in 2016. Ever since, his day starts early at 7 am and ends at 5 pm. Asked about the frequent traffic violations, Shrimali claimed, “I follow traffic signals every time and stop before the red line. I accept that I may have broken the traffic laws, but I will not do it again.”
Out of the 81 e-memos issued to Shrimali in 2019, the latest e-memo was generated on July 19. He was issued 25 e-memos in 2018, whereas six and three challans were issued to him in 2017 and 2016 respectively.
Shrimali claimed that he paid the penalty when he was financially able, before matter got out of his hands and the amount kept escalating. When asked about the outstanding amount on the 99 e-challans, Shrimali said, “I do not have money to pay the penalty now. As and when I save money out of my earnings, I will definitely pay the penalty.”
Akash Patel, ACP Traffic (Admin) told Mirror, “Currently, there is one team each in East and WestAhmedabad functioning to recover e-challans on the spot. We will create more teams to nab habitual offenders and collect the fine due to them.”
Ahmedabad police commissioner A K Singh said that the department is making efforts to make the system full-proof and those evading paying thee-challan will have to pay higher punitive charges. “We have started using an application for on-spot recovery of all pending dues. We are planning to expand it to all the cops, who will be given networked handheld devices.”
Singh revealed that the police department is planning to develop a system with the help of the postal department to enhance the chances of recovery.
“We will produce the e-challans and send the data to the postal department that will deliver the soft copy to the offender and collect the penalty. This will ensure delivery at the doorstep as well as spot recovery. The offenders who insist on a paper copy will have to pay a slightly higher rate, which will include the cost of printing and delivery,” the top cop said.
Talking about the steps taken to nab habitual offenders, RTO (Ahmedabad) S P Muniya told Mirror, “When we receive details of traffic violators from the police, we blacklist those vehicles and stop any transaction pertaining to the vehicle. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, we also cancel the driving licences of people who are identified by the police department as offenders.”
Record-breaking violators
Shrimali is not the only habitual offender in the city. As per Ahmedabad Traffic Police records, there are over 82 violators who have received 50 or more e-memos for violating rules. The number of violators with 40 or more e-memos is 276, whereas 930 violators have been issued 30 or more e-memos. There are 33,687 violators with ten or more e-challans.
He has the dubious distinction of being Ahmedabad’s top traffic offender. Vadaj-based autorickshaw driver Pradeep Shrimali (42) has 115 traffic violations to his name, including the latest offence that he committed a couple of days ago on Friday when he jumped the red signal. And he has been caught by the CCTV cameras jumping the red light over a hundred times.
With increasing traffic awareness among commuters, there has been a steady decline in the number of e-challans being issued to traffic violators since January. But that has not stopped habitual offenders like Shrimali from breaking the law with impunity.
Shrimali has accrued a fine amount of Rs 38,300 against 115 e-memos issued to him. He has paid Rs 5,800 against 16 e-memos issued to him, while 99 ememos amounting to Rs 32,500 remain unpaid.
The 42-year-old
The majority of e-memos (102) of the total 115 issued to Shrimali has been for jumping the red light. Four memos were issued for jumping the stop line, four for carrying passengers on the driver’s seat and wrong parking attracted him five offences.
After driving a rented autorickshaw for two years, Shrimali purchased a pre-owned autorickshaw for Rs 42,000 in 2016. Ever since, his day starts early at 7 am and ends at 5 pm. Asked about the frequent traffic violations, Shrimali claimed, “I follow traffic signals every time and stop before the red line. I accept that I may have broken the traffic laws, but I will not do it again.”
Out of the 81 e-memos issued to Shrimali in 2019, the latest e-memo was generated on July 19. He was issued 25 e-memos in 2018, whereas six and three challans were issued to him in 2017 and 2016 respectively.
Shrimali claimed that he paid the penalty when he was financially able, before matter got out of his hands and the amount kept escalating. When asked about the outstanding amount on the 99 e-challans, Shrimali said, “I do not have money to pay the penalty now. As and when I save money out of my earnings, I will definitely pay the penalty.”
Akash Patel, ACP Traffic (Admin) told Mirror, “Currently, there is one team each in East and West
Ahmedabad police commissioner A K Singh said that the department is making efforts to make the system full-proof and those evading paying the
Singh revealed that the police department is planning to develop a system with the help of the postal department to enhance the chances of recovery.
“We will produce the e-challans and send the data to the postal department that will deliver the soft copy to the offender and collect the penalty. This will ensure delivery at the doorstep as well as spot recovery. The offenders who insist on a paper copy will have to pay a slightly higher rate, which will include the cost of printing and delivery,” the top cop said.
Talking about the steps taken to nab habitual offenders, RTO (Ahmedabad) S P Muniya told Mirror, “When we receive details of traffic violators from the police, we blacklist those vehicles and stop any transaction pertaining to the vehicle. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, we also cancel the driving licences of people who are identified by the police department as offenders.”
Record-breaking violators
Shrimali is not the only habitual offender in the city. As per Ahmedabad Traffic Police records, there are over 82 violators who have received 50 or more e-memos for violating rules. The number of violators with 40 or more e-memos is 276, whereas 930 violators have been issued 30 or more e-memos. There are 33,687 violators with ten or more e-challans.
Shrimali has paid Rs 5,800 against 16 e-memos, 99 are pending
We have started using an application for on-spot recovery of all pending dues. We are planning to expand it to all the cops, who will be given networked handheld devices
Currently, there is one team each in East and West of city that recovers e-challans on the spot. We will create more teams to nab habitual offenders and collect the fine due to them
We blacklist vehicles of violators and stop transaction pertaining to the vehicle. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, we also cancel the driving licences of repeat offenders
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