Police inspect 381 scrap shops, seize suspected stolen material

The city police carried out large-scale inspections of scrap shops across the city limits on the night of January 3, 2026, as part of a drive to curb illegal activities, unsafe practices, and negligence.

Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi said that 381 scrap shops were inspected by 64 teams comprising nearly 200 police personnel. “The teams verified the installation and functioning of CCTV cameras, the storage and retention of footage, and whether recordings were stored locally, remotely, or backed up to the cloud,” he said.

The inspections also covered the possible employment of child labour, the validity of trade licences, Shops and Establishments registration, maintenance of purchase and sales registers, availability of digital payment systems, and compliance with fire safety norms, including the presence of fire extinguishers.

Special focus was placed on vehicle scrapping activities. The police checked whether the units were registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities authorised to issue scrapping certificates through the Parivahan ‘vscrap’ portal. “We looked for complete vehicles, mismatches between registration certificates and vehicles, fake number plates, and unauthorised parking on public roads,” Dr. Bagchi said.

During the drive, the police seized suspected stolen material, including 204 kg of copper, 53 kg of silver, 70 kg of iron mixed with silver, 12 kg of cable wires, three silver coils, and two unauthorised TVS vehicles.

The seized property will be handed over to the respective crime police stations, and four cases will be registered. “Strict legal action will be taken against anyone found indulging in illegal activities, dangerous practices, or negligence in scrap shops within the city limits,” the Commissioner said.