The detention drive started on an order from Gujarat High Court that autorickshaws using kerosene-petrol mixture as fuel should be seized. Regional Transport Officer P.S. Patel said over 10,000 autorickshaws were checked and some 1,000 seized. About 400 lie in the police headquarters grounds, unclaimed by owners. Vandals have stolen machine parts, tyres and tubes, even whole engines from some of them.

Police, of course, have no record of what has gone missing. And traffic department officers say neither do they have any complaint from headquarters about burglary of spares. But they admit that there is every chance of autorickshaws being stripped of their parts, for they are left in the open with no guards.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Samiullah Ansari said there were many reasons behind owners not claiming their vehicles. The tax for many of the rickshaws has not been paid, either since purchase, or since the seizure. Owners find that paying the tax arrears plus penalty will be very expensive.

And many owners do not have vehicle documents. This makes claims difficult. Ansari said, ``In my experience, autorickshaw owners have a tendency to sell their vehicles to others without getting the documents on the buyer's name, and this chain goes on. Most often, the documents are not transferred because taxes haven't been paid.'' RTO P.S. Patel said registration of an autorickshaw is suspended for 30 days if the driver and owner are same and for 45 days if the owner has hired a driver.

If any auto is seized for the second time the registration is cancelled for not less than four months. Rickshaw driver Rajni Patel said drivers don't reclaim vehicles because the arrears would normally be more than Rs 1,500 including unpaid tax and fine. ``If a driver did not earn for 45 days how could he reclaim his auto?'' he asked. ``We prefer to do some other business with the money than pay the fine and get back the vehicle.''

The RTO said they had served the auction notice to make rickshaw owners aware that their vehicles could go under the hammer if they did not reclaim them.``It evoked good response,'' he said. But the grounds are still chock-a-block with seized vehicles.