Mumbai:
The police and intelligence agencies have zeroed-in on drivers of the city's ubiquitous black-and-yellow taxis as their new eyes and ears with ACP Naval Bajaj asking all taxi drivers to be on the alert and inform the police in case of any suspicious activity.
With taxis having been used to carry out bomb blasts in the past and with a taxi driver having given the police important clues about the perpetrators of the 2003 Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar twin blasts, the police feel the community can be of great help.
They intend to use the information given by taxi drivers to pre-empt and crack down on high profile cases of crime and terror.
"The information passed on by the drivers could be critical for intelligence agencies," Bajaj, who is attached to the police headquarters, said. "The programme has just begun. We will be adding more elements to it and will develop a proper process of getting information from these drivers."
A L Quadros, secretary, Mumbai Taximen's Union, however, raised doubts about the efficacy of this new method of intelligence gathering.
"One taxi driver was a key witness in the Gateway of India blast, but he had to leave the city after the verdict," said Quadros.
"We are ready to act as alert citizens but the police should consider giving us appropriate security when we pass on such information. We all know the condition of police informers. However, if any driver does get such information and he is ready to share it, we will be more than happy to support him," he added.
Bajaj, too, admitted that not all of the information passed on to them by taxi drivers would be useful. "The information provided may not always be useful. Sometimes, just one out of a hundred tip-offs could be important," said Bajaj.
The taxis arrived in 1911 to complement horse wagons. These black and yellow cabs have monopoly from Bandra to Churchgate on the Western line and from Sion to CST on the Central line.