The rise in illegal rickshaws in the capital has become a great source for an organised syndicate to make a fast buck through selling fake number plates for the three-wheelers over the last five years.
Members of Traffic Control Department consider those number plates real which pave the way for the rickshaws to easily run on the city streets.
An organised syndicate in the name of Rickshaw-Van Owners and Workers Association allegedly issue the licences against money.
A section of corrupt officials of Dhaka City Corporation and Dhaka Metropolitan Police are allegedly involved in the malpractice.
DMP Traffic Control Department hardly have any actual figure as to how many rickshaws and vans are plying across the city streets.
Meer Rejaul Alam, joint commissioner (traffic) of DMP, told the Dhaka Tribune they contacted different Rickshaw-Van Owners and Workers Association to get the actual figure of rickshaws and vans, but to no avail.
About rickshaws moving on VIP roads, he said they only plied on the roads during hartal.
According to sources in Rickshaw-Van Owners Associations, around 8,00,000 rickshaws and vans have been plying across the city streets by using fake number plates.
However, there are only 87000 valid licences issued for non-motorised vehicles in the capital city. Of them, 79,554 were for rickshaws and 8,000 for vans.
Sources in the DCC said the last time licences were issued was in the year of 1986 and for reasons unknown no new licences had been issued over the last 27 years.
The syndicate is cashing in on the traffic control authorities’ inaction.
Besides using different associations’ names, the syndicate is also using the identity of freedom fighters.
The victim rickshaw pullers claimed that it was impossible to pull rickshaws or vans without buying number plates from those associations.
Police seized their rickshaws, they said, alleging that members of the “Committee to stop rickshaw theft” were mainly involved in stealing rickshaws and vans.
Sources said there were around 28 Rickshaw Owners and Workers Association and most of them were involved in the sale of number plates to new rickshaws and van.
One of the popular and well-known association names is the “committee to stop rickshaw theft” led by a so-called leader Insur Ali.
He often sells licence at Tk500 and the licence is valid for two to three months only.
Once the validity expires, the rickshaw pullers have to buy new licences, or else their rickshaws are caught by members of Traffic Control Department and handed over to police for throwing to the dump site.
Besides, some members of the “Committee to stop rickshaw theft” allegedly steal rickshaws at midnight and later another group of them broker a settlement and recover the stolen three-wheelers in exchange of Tk2,000-Tk3,000.
It was learnt that Insur Ali was now the general secretary of “National Rickshaw-Van Workers League” which supplied maximum licence plates.
Contacted, Ali Ahammed, president of Bangladesh Rickshaw Van-Owners Federation, claimed that Insur Ali was issuing the licences for rickshaws.
However, another source claimed that Ali Ahammed was personally involved in such illegal business.
But Ali Ahammed refused the allegation. He told the Dhaka Tribune they only looked after the facilities of rickshaw owners and workers.
Shahar Ali, president of Dhaka city Rickshaw-Van Owners’ Welfare Parishad, said many people were involved in the business of selling number plates.
“Even, I receive death threat for protesting such illegal acts,” he said.
The Dhaka Tribune tried to contact Insur Ali but failed to trace him.
It was alleged that Insur Ali had blessing from the DCC and DMP high-ups.
