The Hindu : Automobile mechanic shops under close watch

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 31, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Automobile mechanic shops under close watch

By S.Shivakumar

CHENNAI May 30. The police have placed large number of automobile mechanic shops in city under a close monitor as part of a security exercise to reduce the terrorist threat to the metro and also to crack down on vehicles used for crime.

The mechanic shops could be used for disruptive activities, as they have a large number of vehicles, the records of which are not easily verifiable on the road.

Extremist outfits, known for its expertise in manufacturing `automobile bombs', could identify some unsuspecting mechanics to negotiate a sale and rig the old and repaired cars with bombs.

Apart from mechanic shops dealing with all kinds of automobiles, even roadside shops are being covered in this census of automobile repair units. Most of the shops have been covered and now police are in the process of ensuring that mechanics operating in interior lanes and streets are not missed out. Apart from the photograph of the mechanic, information regarding vehicles being brought for repair, servicing; including the owner's names and address have been collected as part of the security exercise.

The mechanic shop owners have been instructed to maintain a register of vehicles repaired and serviced at their units. These registers will be checked by the local police personnel at regular intervals.

The city police hope to achieve the dual objective of deterring criminals who use vehicles for committing crime and also keeping track of unused vehicles lying in mechanic shops. These abandoned vehicles could be procured by extremist groups at a cheap price and converted into `car bombs'. Also, this exercise will serve as a deterrent to automobile thieves and receivers of stolen vehicles.

The exercise also benefited some mechanic shop owners, as vehicle owners who had not collected their vehicles for long periods for various reasons mainly non-settlement of bills were now forced to take them back to avoid questions from the police. The City Police Commissioner, K.Vijay Kumar, when asked about the new security measures, told The Hindu, that the police had only activated an existing security measure, `cycle registers'. Already, each police station maintained a cycle register, where theft and detection of cycles was treated as an indicator of crime, and now the police were including motorcycle theft cases in a similar manner. The police were already maintaining intensified vigil in the city as part of its crime prevention drive. This census of automobile mechanic shops was an added security measure. ``The security exercise is primarily anti-crime and will also include an anti-terrorist spin off'', Mr.Vijay Kumar said when asked if it was conducted in view of any terrorist activity.

The Commissioner said the census would be exhaustive and surprise sample checks would be conducted in mechanic shops in different parts of the city to check the effectiveness of the drive.

Meanwhile, traffic planners hope that the new security drive would ensure that unused vehicles parked along the roads and inner streets would be removed to ensure smooth movement of traffic.

These vehicles apart from reducing road space along the margins could also be ``potential car bombs'' without the owners even suspecting it.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Parties ignore ban on plastics

Automobile mechanic shops under close watch

Porur residents claim `rightful' share from their lake

TNPCB campaign against noise pollution falls on deaf ears

Double murder case solved, three held

Elaborate arrangements for Saidapet

Heavy rain in Kancheepuram

Bank employee leaps to death

Tree cutting leads to accidents on national highway

French language students yet to receive mark sheets