Nuh trucks break rules, ply without numbers

Whereas citizens allege collusion between police and truck drivers, police says measures are in place to curb the menace

Jai Prakash Jain, a Gurugram-based advocate, was on way to his native village in Nuh’s Ferozepur Jhirka in his chauffeur-driven Sports Utility Vehicle on June 26 morning when a rashly driven dumper truck hit his vehicle on the right.

Mr. Jain intercepted the offending vehicle with the help of the Police Control Room vehicle after a brief chase. But to his surprise, the dumper truck did not have a registration number plate in the rear and the number in the front was deliberately erased.

The advocate alleged that a majority of the dumper trucks plying on the National Highway 248-A (Gurugram-Alwar) running through Nuh either did not have a registered number plate or the registration number was deliberately painted black to avoid identification in case of any traffic violation and accident. “The fact that these vehicles pass through various police posts in Nuh hints at collusion between them and the police. Who will pay compensation to the victims injured or killed in an accident involving these trucks without registration number plates?” asked Mr. Jain.

Though Mr. Jain and his driver Satish were lucky to have escaped unhurt, Abdul Gaffar, an accountant at Al-Afia Hospital in Nuh’s Mandikhera, sustained head and leg injuries in a similar accident on June 23. In his case too, the speeding truck did not have a registration number plate in the rear.

Mr. Gaffar was on his way to Badkali Chowk on a motorcycle when a dumper truck hit him near the traffic police station and sped away. “The police team carrying out routine vehicle check near the spot gave a chase to the truck, but it escaped. The police told me that it did not have a registration number plate in the rear,” said the 32-year-old.

Mr. Gaffar, a resident of Nuh’s Santhawari village, said dumper trucks plying on National Highway 248-A without registration number plates was a common sight. And some of the truck drivers had grease smeared on the number plate. Most of these trucks were involved in transportation of construction material, such as stones, from the mining sites in Nuh and Rajasthan.