LAHORE – MIAN DAWOO - The decision of crackdown on motorbikes was withdrawn after the bombardment of public complaints, TheNation has learnt.The Lahore police were impounding more than 5,000 motorbikes daily since newly-appointed Lahore CCPO Amjad Javed Saleemi had issued his ‘first’ order on February 6 to launch crackdown on bikers, a senior police officer said on anonymity.Taking advantage of the situation, the police were misusing their authority and humiliating the citizens even with families.Of the total 9.4 million vehicles registered by the Excise and Taxation Department all over the province, 75 of them were motorbikes, another source in the Punjab Excise and Taxation said.Though, CCPO’s instructions were to curtail street crime as the motorbikes with dubious number plates, police is seen misusing their authorit. As the motorbikes were being used by a majority of students, jobseekers, government employees and other citizens largely due to energy crisis and low economic status, they remained the target of the police in the ongoing crackdown.In order to implement the order of their new boss, the DSPs have also directed the SHOs of their divisions to implement in keen sprit. Some of the SPs had assigned fixed target of impounding the motorbikes while others had left it on their subordinates. However, most of the senior police officers are against the decision of the CCPO. A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said that average number of the motorbikes being impounded by the city police remained 5,000 daily which is said to be the highest compared to such actions taken in the past.Interestingly, of the seized bikes so far, the police had failed to arrest the criminals. A majority of the motorbikes were released when the citizens approached the concerned courts. The police officers had also received strict directions by the CCPO not to attend calls by any quarter for the release of the seized bikes.The ‘crackdown’ has become a source of income for them. They were minting money from the motorcyclists ranging between Rs2,000 to Rs5,000.  A majority of the policemen had fixed Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 for dubious number plates of 125 motorcycle.The officer said the CCPO’s orders on crackdowns against poor bikers as illegal and a move to create more unrest among citizens who were already facing dacoits and criminals in the city.“Following visionless traditions of predecessors, every CCPO after taking charge issues such bogus directives that create hardships for the citizens,” the SP noted.  He said that the CCPO should adopt a strategy to arrest sectarian killers, dacoits and bandits involved in heinous crimes instead of targeting poor citizens.  “This is nothing but a move to become good in the eyes of bigwigs of the police department and to satisfy the Punjab Chief Minister who was angry over the police in controlling lawlessness in the city,” the SP commented. An ASI, who performs duty on a police picket, admitted that they were doing useless effort. He wished not to be named and strongly criticized the police crackdown against the bikers. “We came on picket right on 6pm, closed at least 50 bikes and then leave the citizens on the mercy of thieves and dacoits after achieving their ‘target’,” the ASI said.

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