Police in Ludhiana district in the northern Indian state of Punjab has launched a unique campaign to curb the growing menace of traffic violations in the region.
According to the new rule, frequent violators might have their passports cancelled or struggle to get a new one they will deny any sort of police clearances* to drivers involved in serious traffic offences.
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Gurdev Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Ludhiana said that any traffic violators who have been subjected to the First Information Reports (FIR) may be "adversely affected" by this rule.
“They will have problems while applying for a passport or when they apply for a visa," he said.
“We are in the process of listing all these offenders in a digital database. This will also serve our commitment to sharing this information with the visa authorities from countries like Australia and Canada."
Mr Singh said in the last year many people from the district have applied for citizenship or long-term visas in Canada and Australia.
A photo of Indian passport. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
“We have several inquiries from embassies that we deal with on a routine basis. Given there is a growing number of youngsters chasing foreign dreams, we hope to use this campaign as a tool to deter traffic violations."
He added that the new decision would encourage to take traffic rules seriously.
“This is just one step towards ensuring that people, particularly youngsters, follow the traffic rules with due diligence.
“We want to make sure these regulations are not overlooked at any stage as no one wants to see any mishaps involving their loved ones," said Mr Singh. 
Mr Singh said the changes are part of a new ‘anti-encroachment’ campaign that was recently launched in all 28 police stations across the city.
Gurdev Singh, ACP (Traffic), Ludhiana was awarded Chief Minister's Medal for meritorious services in 2019. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
When asked if he thinks the new announcement would result in an increase in the corruption incidents as alleged by some on social media, Mr Singh said they were "baseless allegations."
“There is no concrete basis for these accusations. We always aim to serve our community in the best possible manner and hope that this new campaign will go a long way in ensuring the safety of the road users," he added.
Melbourne-based migration agent Jujhar Bajwa said all aspiring students and migrants must adhere to these rules.
Source: Wikimedia commons
“The government is very strict to apply character requirements on all visa aspirants. They expect people to maintain a good record if they wish to settle in this country on a permanent basis.
“Depending upon the severity of the crime, there could be two types of implications – the applicants may either be denied a visa by the embassy or if they’re here in Australia then they could be deported to their home country," said Mr Bajwa.
While quoting the Department of Home Affairs figures, he added nearly three visas are cancelled under section 501 of the Migration Act nearly every day.
“These figures are only from Australia. But I doubt if there is any data available on how many people were denied a visa based on their failure to get police clearances,” said Mr Bajwa.
According to the data obtained by The Australian, in the last five years, over 5000 foreign nationals have been thrown out of Australia or are awaiting deportation for committing serious crimes which also involves at least 975 crimes that were non-violent in nature.
*The passport authorities in India integrate with the individual State Police not only for physical verification of applicant's credentials for having a passport but also to release a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) for visa purposes.
