It was a long battle for Badriprasad, a victim of a fake vehicle registration plate scam, to get back the ₹11,000 fine he paid for traffic violations which he never committed. But soon enough, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) nabbed Ramgopal, who violated traffic the norms sporting a registration number plate matching Badriprasad’s.
This was one of the of the 10 cases detected by the police in the last one month alone. The Traffic Management Centre (TMC) has flagged over 1,500 vehicles with fake number plates so far on city roads, sources said. “We have launched a special drive against vehicles operating with fake registration numbers. Such vehicles will be seized and the persons will be booked under appropriate sections of IPC,” said B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
With increase in number of such cases, the traffic police on the ground have been given a new set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to verify and cross-check vehicle documents and the number plates thoroughly. “So far, the focus of the traffic police was only enforcement and slapping penalty. But with the rise in fake registration number plate cases, the police have been instructed to be more vigilant,” Kuldeep Kumar R. Jain, DCP (Traffic-West) said. In case they catch a vehicle with a fake number plate, traffic personnel have been instructed to file a case against the offender with the law and order police and seize the vehicle for further investigation.
Owners of the vehicles also have a responsibility to dispute traffic norm violation penalties levied on them if they are sure of not violating the norms, as this would help the police flag fake cases. They are advised to check the BTP website for violations. In case of dispute, they should raise a complaint online, a senior police officer at TMC said.
At least 10 to 12 people visit the TMC everyday disputing the notices. Recently, a techie received a notice of ₹1,500 for traffic violations which he had not committed. He turned up at the TMC and checked the footage to find another vehicle using his registration number. The technical team at the TMC not only cancelled the notice but also red-flagged the vehicle and alerted the police. With enforcement cameras across the city operational, almost 90% of violations are recorded and available with the TMC for scrutiny. The TMC has put the over 1,500 vehicles under the scanner, a police officer said.
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