Bhopal: Traffic Cops Crack Down On Number Plate Tampering

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Traffic police have launched a special drive against vehicles found without registration number plates or with tampered ones. The drive is aimed at curbing the practice of dodging e-challans by manipulating number plates to escape CCTV surveillance.

The checking is not limited to main roads and junctions, but is being carried out on interior routes and by lanes as well. Police said many two-wheeler riders, especially youngsters, have been found removing or damaging their number plates to avoid detection for traffic violations like signal jumping, over-speeding, triple riding and riding without helmets.

In many instances, digits were scratched off, plates were smeared with mud, or broken partially to render them unreadable. These tactics were being used deliberately to fool the system and avoid electronic fines.

Alarmed by the rising number of such violations, traffic officials have launched a citywide crackdown. Within a month, action has been taken against nearly 200 such vehicles. Several stolen bikes were also recovered during the drive and handed over to respective police stations for further investigation.

Additional DCP (Traffic) Basant Kumar Kaul confirmed the seizures and said that similar drives would continue in the coming weeks to deter offenders and bring discipline on roads.

Two vehicle lifters nabbed

Shahjehanabad police on Saturday arrested two persons with a stolen bike and a scooty. In-charge Umesh Pal Singh Chauhan said a man on a scooty with a damaged number plate was stopped during a checking drive. The suspect, identified as Umar Ali (35), initially tried to mislead cops but then confessed to have stolen the scooty. On his confession, his aide Sheikh Parwez was also arrested with a stolen bike.