The Vasai traffic division has been conducting a special drive to crackdown on illegal auto-rickshaws, whose menace has become a growing concern in the area. The police said that the drivers of these illegal auto-rickshaws prefer to operate their vehicles in the night to avoid detection of their offences.

Police officials said that they had been receiving multiple complaints against the auto-rickshaw drivers from violation of traffic rules, duplicate number plates on their vehicles to house break-ins and theft. Drunk driving by auto-rickshaw drivers has raised serious concerns about women’s safety, particularly since many of these drivers operate primarily at night to ferry passengers.