City police has issued instructions to owners of parking lots to be cautious while letting in motorcycles bearing Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra registration plates.
A parking lot in Chromepet has a board on its gate in Tamil, warning that motorcycles with registration plates starting with ND, UP, WB, MH and BH will not be let in. Parking lot attendants said they were asked to do so by the police.
A new customer, who rides a vehicle with a North Indian registration, wishing to use the parking, would have to be ‘cleared’ by the local police first.
Regulars with north Indian registration plates will be allowed.
A joint commissioner of police said that all police stations have been asked to pass on instructions to owners and staff at the motorcycle parking lots.
“This is in the wake of a series of chain snatching incidents involving a couple of young men – Sanjay and Sonu — hailing from Uttar Pradesh. They were involved in a number of chain snatching incidents in Virugambakkam and South Chennai and we suspect their involvement in recent incidents. We are seeing a pattern,” the officer said.
However, parking lot users feel this is rank discrimination and must not be continued.
