There are several spots reserved by the government as parking spaces throughout the city. There are several private pay and park facilities available too, which are registered with the government. But there are some scamsters out there who are using illegal parking spaces to earn money. The police officials unearthed illegal parking spaces in South Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar and Chira Bazaar.
LT Marg Police registered a case against several parking owners who scammed motorists by charging them and offering them illegal parking spots. One of the accused Rajesh Kahar worked as a security guard at Bhuleshwar's garden. He was moonlighting as the owner of the fake parking zone.
A case was registered against him after a complaint was lodged by a goldsmith named Mitesh Jain. He works at Aurum Mall in Zaveri Bazaar. He used to park his vehicle near Mumbadevi Garden in Bhuleshwar.
A Police Official from LT Marg Police Station sharing the details of the case said, “Since 2020, Jain and his coworkers have paid the same amount of ₹800 every month to park here. Jain was shocked to see that he had received numerous e-challans for parking in an unpermitted area. He investigated and discovered that the area where he had been parking his two-wheeler was forbidden for parking. Even though the traffic police had repeatedly towed his car, the parking attendant had informed him that it had been done so because of VIP activity nearby.”
Further stating how Rajesh got into this moonlighting police said he got the idea to run an illegal parking lot as people used to ask him to keep an eye on their vehicles when they parked around the garden. When they left they used to pay him as per their wish. However, after the pandemic hit, he wanted to earn a steady income. Hence he started an unauthorized pay-and-parking zone and used to charge people monthly.
In the second incident, a transporter, Surendra Yadav, lodged a case with the LT Marg police against Mohan Lokhare, for running an unsanctioned parking zone at Dr Viegas Street in Chira Bazaar.
Police officials said he used to charge Surendra Yadav INR 500 a month, which was less than the going cost, and ask Surendra Yadav to park his cars in his parking lot, which was an illegal parking area. Yadav approached us after receiving a number of e-challans.
Rajesh & Mohan have been booked by the police under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, and the Motor Vehicle Driving Regulations, 2017.
Further speaking of authorized parking zones officials said, “There are only three official parking lots in the area – under the JJ Flyover, near Civil Hotel, and the third near the Mumbadevi Temple.”
Several vehicle owners are receiving e-challans and are filing complaints against the parking owners. This is helping officials to bust illegal parking scams. Police said, “Additionally, the unlicensed pay-and-park lot operators are jubilantly paid by the business community, which includes gold sellers, cloth traders, electric equipment traders, and distributors of medicines. This is because they charge less than the going rate for parking cars and take good care of their cars. However, following a crackdown on unauthorized parking in the area by LT Marg and Kalbadevi traffic divisions, a number of people have been receiving e-challans and are going to the police to file complaints against fraudsters.”
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