Bengaluru police want to tow your vehicle, but where is the place to park them?

Bengaluru police face challenges in parking seized vehicles due to land scarcity and growing congestion around police stations.

Land scarcity within Bengaluru has emerged as a fresh challenge for the civic body and the traffic police, who are in the process of drafting an action plan to resume towing of vehicles parked in unauthorised spots.

Even as three out of four traffic divisions have received towing vehicles from the corporations, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) remain unclear about where the towed vehicles will be parked. The issue came up after the BTP was told to clear vehicles dumped at Jakkarayanakere in central Bengaluru.

A senior officer from the Northeast division told The Hindu that they now have no option but to park all seized vehicles within police station premises, creating a new challenge in managing space around the stations. 

Another officer, however, pointed out that the primary reason for vehicles piling up at police stations is the reluctance to auction seized vehicles. “As per the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act, all seized vehicles that are not claimed by their owners should be auctioned. However, this has rarely been carried out,” the officer said.

Search for land to park towed vehicles

While the BTP has the option of using small parcels of land within the city belonging to the police department, these will still fall short of the requirement. As a result, the BTP has written to Jagadeesha G., Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, seeking the identification of three parcels of land within the city, each spanning at least three acres, to shift vehicles seized by the police.