Vehicle checks to go digital, end to police brutality

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state home ministry decided to end the archaic model of vehicle check by stopping vehicles in the middle of traffic and corners. The digital traffic checking program installed with the help of the world bank assisted Rs 1.86 crore, was kept idle for four years. The government will strictly abide by the digital format in the coming days and will take action against the officers still going the archaic way. According to government insiders, the police favor the old way which helps them mint money through rogue manners and blackmail.

The unfortunate yet cruel death of Manoharan near Thripunithura due to police brutality opened the eyes of the government. The police chief will give a detailed report about the benefits of shifting to a digital format. It was after the High court warning that the government made a mobile app four years back to track down vehicles running without proper paperwork and not following road rules. The control room was made in Thiruvananthapuram and the app had the technical prowess to even catch people running through busy roads surpassing the speed limits.

If adopted earlier, 4,000 police officials could have returned back to other work than ambushing from corners to trap vehicles. The new cameras in tandem with the digital application will start working in April. The application will be only available for police officers who will get the notification about the riders failing the traffic rules.