Patna, Feb. 9: Autorickshaw drivers would no longer get the benefit of long registration numbers, that often helped them run away unidentified after committing a crime. The unique coding system has started picking up.

As per the latest reports, more than 700 autorickshaws are plying on different routes of the state capital with unique code numbers. The others will follow suit soon.

The Telegraph had reported about the move of the city police on December 24 last year.

“Autos plying in areas like Patliputra, Kotwali and Gandhi Maidan have these numbers. Around 150 vehicles in the Patliputra area and around 450 in the Kotwali area have been issued the codes. Autos plying in Fulwari and other areas will soon get their numbers,” said deputy superintendent of police (law and order) L.M. Sharma.

The officer said the police were taking down the details of each of the autos being given the unique code.

“Each police station maintains a register. For example, autos moving along the Kotwali area have the code ‘K’. They are numbered like K-1, K-2 and so on. Autos plying in Patliputra area have ‘P’ as their code. The ones moving on the Gandhi Maidan route have been coded as ‘G’ and so on. The codes and the numbers have been painted in the front and rear of the autos,” the officer said.

“The autorickshaw by the number K-1 has its registration number, driver’s name, address and mobile number and contact details of its owner noted down in the register. As a result, tracking autos will be a lot easier for the police. The move will also help the people remember the number, which they can convey to the police , if required. They do not have to remember the long registration numbers any more,” Sharma said.

Sharma said even the auto drivers’ union has co-operated with the police on the issue.

“The union help us a lot. We have held meetings with them and they have agreed to the proposal. The codes are being painted on the autos in co-ordination with the auto unions,” Sharma said.

Earlier, the district transport officer, Harihar Prasad, said around 27,000 autos ply in Patna. Sources said only 12 to 13 per cent of these run on valid permits and proper papers. Many auto drivers have been caught for criminal activities in the past.

On the night of December 4 last year, a 30-year-old woman from Jamunia area under the Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh was gangraped by two auto drivers, hours after she got down at the Patna Junction. The incident took place at Valmi area in Fulwari, around 14km from the state capital.