No photos allowed using personal phones, use e-challan machines instead: Maha Highway police

The Maharashtra Highway Police authorities on Friday instructed all the traffic police personnel to refrain from using their personal mobile phones to click pictures of the places of traffic violators and instead to strictly use the e-challan machines for the same.

The circular was issued by the additional director general (ADG) of police, Kulwant Sarangal, Maharashtra Police Traffic. It is said that the traffic police in various places are reportedly clicking pictures of the vehicles and nameplates using their mobile phones while taking action against the traffic violator vehicles, but the time of uploading these pictures on the e-challan machines is much later.

The circular also mentioned the complaint the ADG received recently from a Right to Information (RTI) activist named Deepak Shankar Patil, who alleged that the pictures the traffic personnel uploaded are inaccurate as they simply consist of nameplates mostly and not the vehicle.

Hence, by acting on the complaint by Patil, the ADG through the circular stated that stringent actions will be taken against the police personnel who continue to click pictures using their personal mobile phones instead of the e-challan machines.

This circular will be applicable throughout Maharashtra under the jurisdictions of Mumbai Police, Thane City Police, Navi Mumbai Police, Mira-Bhayandar Police, Vasai-Virar Police, along with Pune City Police, Nagpur City Police, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police, Nashik City Police, Aurangabad Police, Solapur City Police, and Amravati Police.