CHENNAI:Cracking down on youngsters who are notoriously conducting bike races in the city, the police conducted surprise checks and seized 69 motorbikes on Monday night.
Parents of youngsters were summoned to the police stations and made to give an undertaking that they would not allow their children to indulge in bike racing.
“After recent reports of rash driving, we conducted vehicle checks at key racing points,” said a senior police officer. He said that in most of the cases, rash driving was done by men who were returning after the Ramadan fast.
As youngsters escaped by entering the bylanes, a police officer involved in the operation said that on Monday night they posted police personnel in smaller streets to nab the motorcyclists. “Since they escaped last time even as barricades were placed in zig-zag manner, this time we blocked the road itself to trap them,” he said.
The senior police officer said that almost 2,000 police personnel were deployed around the city on Monday night for the operations. A few traffic junctions were placed with Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) cameras to identify the traffic offenders, even if they escaped from the police.
Hundreds of vehicles were checked and 69 seized. “We will call their parents and after they pay a fine, we ask them to submit a letter promising that they won’t allow their sons to involve in similar acts. If the same person is caught again, he will be arrested,” said a senior police officer.
“I knew someday he would get into trouble and warned my son not to go with his friends. Yet every night he goes with them and returns home only in the morning after the sunrise. This time he was released after just a fine,” said Feroz, father of Nazeer, whose bike was seized in the operation. He was himself not sure if he can control his son from not involving in racing or bike stunts.
“This happens every year during the season of Ramadan, but this becomes an opportunity for history-sheeters and offenders to involve in snatchings and robberies. Many men even come from far-away places such as Mannady, Puzhal and Guduvanchery to perform stunts and racing,” said a police inspector.