Nakabandi on the Western Express Highway, Mumbai police fines 50 bikers

Police pull over bikers near the Vakola bridge on Western Express Highway late last night. PIC/Sameer Markande

The police cracked down on erring motorists on Monday night after Sunday's tragedy where a biker died while allegedly racing at Bandra Reclamation.

During a three-hour nakabandi on the Western Express Highway (WEH), around 50 bikers were fined for violations like riding without a helmet, crowding and not having the necessary paperwork on them.

A police van was stationed at the Kalanagar signal on the highway towards Santacruz. Up ahead, at least 15-20 Kherwadi police officials set up barricades. There were two police vans as well. A number of vehicles were held up before the barricade even at 1.30 am.

Police constables also fan­ned out on the parallel Vakola service road to catch bikers trying to get past the nakabandi. Aro­und 800 m ahead of the nakabandi was another police van. According to police officials, such str­ategic positioning of the vans prevented bikers from escaping.

Janardhan Ked­ekar, inspector of Kherwadi police station, said WEH usually sees nakabandis on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 1 am-4 am, when bikers "venture out more".

He said the Vakola-Kherwadi stretch of the highway is frequented by racers. "We are coming down heavily on all offenders after Sunday's accident. We are not going to let anyone off the hook."

mid-day's report yesterday on Sunday's accident

Speaking to mid-day, Inspector Soh­am Kadam said that with the overnight crackdown, the total number of bikers fined on Monday stood roughly at 88.