Never let go: Capital police stations - graveyards for cars

Several seized cars are rusting outside police stations, with usable few being used by cops for joyrides.

ISLAMABAD:

There’s a song about a hotel from where you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. The capital’s police force seem to have taken this to heart, as ‘Hotel Car-lifornias’ have been set up at almost every police station in the city.

Some of these cars were stolen, some were impounded for having forged or tampered documents, and some were reduced to scrap in accidents, but all have one thing in common — they are well past their use-by date. But that does not stop local cops from joyriding in them, police sources said.

According to a data available with The Express Tribune, 338 such vehicles have been rusting away at several police stations since the 1980s and many of them are illegally being used by police officers. According to the data, each of the city’s 18 police stations ‘hosts’ such vehicles.

“Those which are in good condition are being used by officers, but the majority have rusted and gotten damaged,” said a police officer.

Another police officer claimed the police register cases and refer such vehicles to courts, but the courts delay clearing them, which is a good excuse for the police officers to ‘requisition’ them.

According to the data, with 40 such vehicles, Sabzi Mandi Police Station leads the pack, followed closely by Shalimar, Bara Kahu, Shahzad Town and Koshar police stations.

Sabzi Mandi Police Station SHO Chaudhry Abid Hussain admitted that several such vehicles were being held at the police station. He also shifted responsibility to magistrates for failing to dispose of such cases despite the passage of years.

Meanwhile, when asked about the joyriding officers, Inspector General of the Islamabad Police Sikander Hayat said he will look into it and take action against any officers found guilty of the violation.

He said that the majority of such vehicles had been referred to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration after clearance from magistrates’ courts. The top cop said it is now the responsibility of chief commissioner to auction them.

On the other hand, over a hundred cleared vehicles have been parked in Tarlai Union Council for years, but the ICT administration still shows no sense of urgency to auction them.

“Under the law, it is the responsibility of the ICT administration to auction vehicles once the police and courts clear them,” said a source.

Islamabad Chief Commissioner Jawad Paul admitted that the ICT administration was bound to auction the vehicles after a certain period of time once they were cleared by the cops and courts. He did not explain what was behind the lengthy delay, but regarding a timeline, he said, “We will start auctioning these vehicles after completing some prerequisite requirements”.

Requirements such as rust removal, perhaps.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2014.