Of late, even though the Transport Department and police have tried to curb the traffic rule violations and take the offenders to task, still many vehicle owners in the capital city are moving around with fake registration numbers to avoid fines and taxes.
To make matters worse, some of the motorists are illegally using logos like ‘Army’ and ‘Press’ to claim undue privileges and benefits.
In such an incident, the Commissionerate police have arrested a person, who was moving around in Mahindra XUV SUV with fake registration numbers, posing as an Army Officer. The accused was identified as one Ratikant Satpathy of Daruthenga in the city.
Satpathy used to move around the city in an SUV with an ‘Army’ logo fixed on the windshield of his SUV.
But his game ended after the genuine owner of the number plate (OD02 Y-0023) Dhanjay Hota received challans of Rs 10,000 for traffic rule violation and inquired about the same.
On Friday, Hota chased the accused and intercepted his SUV at Jaydev Vihar Square and called up police. But claiming himself to be an Army officer, he warned the cops of dire consequences. Later, police seized his SUV and took him into custody.
After inquiry, the cops found his claim to be bogus. Later, the accused told the cops that he has bought the vehicle from a potato wholesaler and has not changed its ownership.
However, police have registered a case investigation into the matter.
However, the matter of concern for the enforcement authorities is with a fake number, a vehicle driver, who often breaks the rules can get away with anything. In the capital city which has no widespread CCTV camera coverage, the registration number of the vehicle is often the most important means of tracing the owner, said an official on condition of anonymity.