Two cars in Maharashtra CM's convoy violated traffic rules 13 times reveals RTI

Mumbai: Two official cars of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis violated traffic regulations 13 times between January and August this year and a resultant fine of Rs 13,000 was yet to be paid, an RTI plea filed by a local resident has found.

The Mumbai traffic police, however, clarified that the Chief Minister's convoy was exempt from speeding regulations due to security considerations. The police also said that these challans of Rs 1,000 each are automatically generated by enforcement cameras that monitor speed of vehicles apart from other stipulations.

City-based Right to Information activist Shakeel Ahmad had a filed a plea with the police seeking details of traffic violations by the CM's car between January and August.

The traffic police, in its reply, stated that one car that was used to ferry Fadnavis had violated speed limits five times while another had crossed speed limits eight times between January 12 and August 12.

The reply added that these instances were captured by traffic enforcement cameras placed at the Bandra Worli Sealink.

In a statement issued on Monday, the traffic police said, "Traffic challans are auto generated through deployed speed cameras. Convoy vehicles of the CM are exempted from speed limits due to security threat perception."

The statement added that "technical glitches" in the software which generates e-challans was being rectified.