Are you among those jumping signals or driving in wrong route when traffic policeman is not around.

Don’t resort to that at least on the Punjagutta - Srinagar ‘T’ junction stretch. To catch motorists breaking law taking advantage of the absence of traffic police, the city police have started a new initiative of posting policemen in civilian clothes.

On an experimental basis, two policemen in plainclothes are posted at the two ends of Punjagutta crossroads and the Srinagar ‘T’ junction road. Unaware of the plainclothes policeman carrying a camera, many motorists casually drive in wrong direction or zoom past even as the red light is on.

The constable at Punjagutta will shoot the pictures of the violations and alert his colleague standing at the ‘T’ junction through wireless set.

“The type of violation like treble riding or rash driving along with specific details of the vehicle number and riders would be informed to the policeman at the other end,” Punjagutta Traffic Inspector K. Srinivasa Rao informed.

By the time the motorist violating law reaches ‘T’ junction, the policemen would be readily waiting, having been alerted by his colleague.

A Sub-Inspector or above rank officer present there would intercept the vehicle driver and issue the e-challan based on the photo clicked by the constable at Punjagutta.

“If the person challenges issuing of the challan, we will show the photographic evidence of the violation and ask him or her to pay the fine at any e-Seva or MeeSeva centre,” the Inspector explained. The new initiative took many motorists violating the traffic rules by surprise.

Many of them didn’t even raise questions over imposition of fine as they were caught less than two minutes of the violation. If any motorist challenges even the photo taken by the policeman, video footage recorded by the surveillance camera at Punjagutta would be presented before the court, the Inspector said.

On an average, nearly 200 persons are being caught for different violations at the stretch. Soon, the system would be introduced at many other stretches to rein in persons breaching traffic rules, say the higher-ups.

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