Police crackdown against fancy licence plates

Action follows kidnapping of SHC Chief Justice's son in a car with a fake number plate

KARACHI: In reaction to Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah's son's disappearance, law enforcement agencies have begun a crackdown against fancy number plates throughout the city with 179 FIRS having been registered and 137 people having been arrested.

According to the spokesperson of the Sindh police, raids against fancy number plates are being conducted across the city, as it is believed that the vehicle used to kidnap Ovais Shah had a fake Sindh police licence plate.



He said that till now 77 FIRs have been registered under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code against vehicle owners from District South and a car bearing the licence plate number, SP-0030, which was being used by retired SP Hasan Dal, was also seized. In District East, 29 individuals have been arrested and a total of 32 FIRs have been registered, according to the spokesperson. Nine FIRs were registered against illegally tinted glasses and 22 FIRs were registered against fancy number plates under Section 188. Another FIR under Sections 170 and 171 of the PPC was also registered against a vehicle bearing the licence plate number, SP-090-A . The data shared by the spokesperson revealed that 76 FIRs were registered in District West and 36 FIRs had been registered in other areas of the city, including Kharadar, Mithadar, Garden and Napier Town.

Naeem Sadiq, a social activist and a vocal opponent of VIP culture, said that they have been raising their voices against VIP culture for a long time. According to him, there are as many as 200,000 to 300,000 unregistered vehicles with fake number plates on the roads of the province.



“Instead of taking action against the common man, the government needs to register their own vehicles and make a portal where they have the data of their own vehicles,” he recommended. He said the government should think of a permanent solution instead of taking temporary actions.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2016.