Move Follows A Gangrape Incident: To curb crimes, autos in Hapur get new identification numbers

Autos have to stick banners on the rear and front that bear the letter H followed by a four-digit number. An auto can be traced and identified in an event of a crime, said police.

Written by Amil Bhatnagar

Noida | April 12, 2021 04:04 AM IST

3 min read

The fare hike is based on the recommendations of the Khatua committee report, which proposed fare formulae on the basis of fuel prices, cost of living and inflation.(Representational)

Police in Hapur have rolled out unique identification numbers for auto-rickshaws in a bid to curb crimes. The district police have rolled out a registration system akin to private cab aggregators in order to identify autos involved in a crime. The move comes after a woman was abducted in an autorickshaw in Ghaziabad and later allegedly gangraped in Hapur, a few weeks ago.

“It reflected in our records that several crimes take place in autos, especially against women. In a recent case, a woman was gangraped by an auto driver and other men who hailed it. We are in the process of registering all autos with a unique four-digit number that is easier to remember. In the event an auto is part of a crime, it can be traced and identified and the crime can be worked out,” said Neeraj Jadaun, SP Hapur.

According to the police, the autos have to stick banners on the rear and front which bear the letter H followed by a four-digit number.

The single letter stands for Hapur and the random four-digit number is allotted by the police department. In addition, the auto drivers have to display their name, pictures, address and mobile numbers behind their seat for identification purposes.

“In several cases, autos do not get traced because it is hard for people to identify drivers or the vehicle itself. This often leads to crimes like sexual assault or robbery. In a bid to make travel for women safer at night, the identity of the driver will be known. Like in cabs, the women can click a picture of the registered player and share it with people,” said Jadaun.

So far, nearly 5,000 autos in the region have been given the new IDs, said police. In the identification process, several illegal autorickshaws were also busted, and the accused were arrested for fraud, police said.

Recently, a college student was eve teased by an auto driver and his associate and threatened with an acid attack while on her way home. The woman lodged an FIR on the basis of the four-digit ID which led to the arrest of the accused, said police.

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Hapur police, in the days to come, will also be launching a dedicated night helpline between 6 pm to 6 am to assist women in case of emergencies.