There is no shortage of cunning people in India. We say this because each and every day, we see a case where a person tries to outsmart authorities and eventually gets caught. Recently, a man was arrested by the Mumbai police for forging number plates. This particular person, who owns a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, had changed his number plate and started using another Ertiga’s number to avoid confiscation of his vehicle by the financer. This entire case unfolded when both vehicles were spotted outside the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.
Cars With Same Number Plates Lead To Security Scare At Mumbai's Taj Hotel !!
byu/IndianByBrain inCarsIndia
A video showing the two white Maruti Suzuki Ertiga MPVs with the same number plates parked together has been shared on Reddit. In this short video, we can note that both of these cars are taxis, and they have the same number plate: “MH 01 EE 2388.” Also, it can be noted that both are the exact same variants that look identical to each other. As mentioned, they were spotted outside the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which prompted a security scare.
What’s the mystery behind these same-number-plate Ertigas?
For those who may be scratching their heads: how can two cars have the same number plate? The answer is that the owner of one of these Ertigas forged the number plate on his car. As per the reports, the name of the owner who forged the number plate is Prasad Chandrakant Kadam.
This 38-year-old man had forged the number plate of his Maruti Suzuki Ertiga because he wanted to avoid his vehicle getting confiscated by the finance company. Prior to this case of forgery, this vehicle was repossessed twice by the financer after Kadam failed to pay his EMIs. However, the car was released on both occasions after he paid some money to the company.
How did he get caught?
Sakir Ali, the original owner of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga with the legal registration number “MH 01 EE 2388,” reported that he started receiving frequent e-challans for traffic violations that were not his fault. He then realized that something was not right and started investigating on his own.
He found out that another car, which belonged to Kadam, was using his number plate. Due to this, Sakir Ali registered a complaint against Kadam. As a result, both cars were taken to the Colaba Police Station. Following this, a case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Kadam was arrested by the police authorities.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that two vehicles with identical number plates have been spotted in public. Prior to this, a case was reported from Noida in which two Tata Nexon sub-compact SUVs had the same number plates. The case unfolded after a call was made to the owner of the Nexon with the original registration number “UP 16 DY 4318.”
He was told that his vehicle was parked in Devika Gold Homes in Noida. However, he argued that his vehicle was with him and parked in his society. He then confirmed this by checking his car in the parking lot. Soon after, he asked the person who called him to provide a picture of the car with the forged number plate.
After confirming with the images, Saurabh Verma, who owned the real number, went to Devika Gold Homes. He then parked his vehicle next to the Nexon with the forged number plate. Finally, it was found that the forged-number-plate car belonged to a businessman named Shivam Singh.
It was then reported that Shivam Singh, who received this car from his in-laws, did not return the car after getting separated from his wife. To avoid getting the vehicle repossessed by the financiers, Singh resorted to forgery. Thankfully, he was caught on time and arrested by police authorities for this act.
