Cops have begun to auction impounded vehicles after a two-year hiatus.
Story so far: Over the past couple of years, the impounding and auction of vehicles were on hold due to the pandemic. The process resumed last month and will be expedited.
- In North Chennai alone, more than 500 vehicles are kept at 16 police stations. Most of them are stolen or have been seized.
- Seized vehicles are disposed of through auctions and are sold to scrap dealers. Hundreds are seized annually, and some owners pay fines to retrieve their vehicles.
What’s the process? After the list of vehicles is published, they’ll be assessed and assigned a value. Owners have 90 days to claim their vehicle. After that, they’ll be put up for auction.