Kolkata: Towing vehicle damages book fair visitor’s car

KOLKATA: A young film-maker from Baruipur, who visited the International

Kolkata Book Fair

on Sunday evening, has sought compensation from Bidhannagar police, alleging that his car was damaged while being towed by cops from a no-parking zone in Salt Lake on Sunday. In the complaint, Sanchayan Chakraborty stated that he had parked the car behind Bidyut Bhavan at DJ Block in Salt Lake around 4.15pm and moved towards the book fair.


Around 7.45pm, when Chakraborty and his friend, Palash Haq, came back, they found the car was missing. “We had not found any ‘no parking’ board in the area where we left the car. We first thought that the car had been stolen and ran to the nearby police outpost at Karunamoyee, where we came to know that it was towed by cops. We found the car on the roadside in CJ Block, but its front portion was severely damaged,” said Haq who posted their ordeal on the Facebook page of Bidhannagar Police on Monday.

“We ran to the Bidhannagar East police station and sought an explanation from cops about the damage of the car. Initially, they refused to take our complaint and sent officers to check the car. They blamed us for parking the vehicle at a no-parking zone. Later, they accepted our complaint as a general diary,” said Haq.

Showing photographs of the damaged vehicle, TOI sought an estimate from an expert dealing with Honda cars. He said the repair would cost from Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000.

“The front bumper, hood, grille, moulding, radiator, condenser and bumper beam need to be replaced and this would cost approximately Rs 80,000,” said the expert. Cops said they have started a probe into the case on the basis of the complaint.

“As per the Motor Vehicles Act, if any car is parked in a no-parking zone, obstructing traffic movement, police are authorized to tow it away. Sometimes cars get damaged while being towed. The same thing may have happened to this car. However, it was the fault of the car owner who had kept it in a no-parking zone,” said a senior police officer. He added that no illegal parking challan was issued against the complainant on Sunday. “We noted down his offence but have not issued any challan yet.”


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.