Bengaluru: Touts harassing owners of vehicles with outstation registration numbers

Bengaluru: The transport department recently denied a report in Deccan Chronicle that RTO inspectors were using touts to stop vehicles with outstation registration numbers and harassing vehicle owners. But an exclusive photograph, made available to this newspaper, clearly shows touts at work, trying to stop vehicles carrying registration numbers of other states.

Mr Karthikeyan, who was stopped by a tout in Kadugodi, said, “There were 7-8 unauthorised people stopping non-Karnataka registered vehicles. I could not take a video as they were not allowing me to stand at the spot, but I could snap some photographs.” The transport department is expecting revenues of around Rs 50 lakh from the drive against outstation registered vehicles.

Pictures taken by a Deccan Chronicle reader, Karthikeyan who was stopped by a tout in Kadugodi for driving a vehicle with non-Karnataka registration numbers

Mr Rejesh Nair, who is from Kerala, said, “Most of us are here for a short span of around six months and leave the city. It does not make sense for us to pay such a hefty amount. Besides, it is not legal for them use touts to collect the road tax. How can the authorities allow such people to stop our vehicles?”

Mr Shekar Menon said, “Most of us are working in the IT sector and we pay taxes in this state. Why is the government here treating us so shoddily?”

A week ago when Deccan Chronicle quizzed Transport Commissioner Ramegowda on touts, he said, “Who is going to hire these touts and pay them? We have not used any touts. I do not understand the problem. All that the people have to do is cooperate and pay the road tax.”