Varanasi: The Chowk police have seized 14 motorcycles and scooters allegedly being used commercially to ferry pilgrims and tourists to Kashi Vishwanath Dham and other nearby destinations without permission.Chowk police station in-charge Vijay Kumar Shukla said that police noticed several motorcycle riders using their private vehicles to transport pilgrims and tourists for monetary gain. Following a preliminary inquiry, Kashi Vishwanath temple outpost in-charge Pushkar Dubey and Brahmnal outpost in-charge Himanshu Mishra were tasked with identifying such riders operating in the vicinity of the temple.Police monitored the CCTV footage and also followed few riders manually to gather evidence. The investigation found that the bikers were allegedly accepting bookings from devotees and tourists on routes leading to Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Kal Bhairav temple.According to police, the riders were operating in a manner similar to app-based bike taxi services, despite not having permission to do so. Officials said the practice was contributing to congestion in the crowded temple area and also raised security concerns.After collecting sufficient evidence, police launched the action on Wednesday and seized 14 motorcycles and scooters allegedly being used for the unauthorised commercial activity.
