Bhubaneswar, Nov 16: Thousands of impounded and unclaimed vehicles are gathering rust and dust for years in police station premises in Bhubaneswar.
However, the Commissionerate police is taking no initiative for auction of the vehicles seized for crimes such as hit-and-run, cheating, theft or during checks conducted by the traffic police.
The condition of many vehicles has deteriorated to such an extent that they can only be sold to scrap dealers.
These junkyards also pose the threat of mishaps such as fire. After formation of Commissionerate Police in 2008, then police Commissioner Bijay Sharma had auctioned some vehicles for the first time. Later, no one took any initiative in this regard. The boundary wall of Nayapalli police station collapsed in 2019 due to over load of vehicles. Police transported some vehicles from all stations to Battalion 7 following the incident.
Poisonous snakes have often been found in the pile-up of seized vehicles at police stations in the capital city. A large number of vehicles have piled up over several years. These seized vehicles cover almost two-thirds of the police station’s premises turning breeding ground of mosquitoes.
