Motor Vehicles Department launches hunt for Mercedes Benz with illegal ‘JustMarried’ number plate

The police department of Palakkad has started a hunt for a Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 because the vehicle was using “Just Married” board instead of the traditional number plate that every vehicle is supposed to use. The vehicle has taken notice of the Motor Vehicle Department. The police first saw the vehicle on a video which was viral on social media. Someone brought attention to the police department by online complaints that they got.

According to the complaints, the vehicle was seen at Yakkara region in Palakkad.  The vehicle seated the bride and the groom. There was a phone number displayed on the rear windshield, but still, the vehicle and the owner has not been caught. Police are still trying to find the lawbreaker. Police are trying to find the owner of the vehicle through the phone number that was on the rear windshield. Palakkad RTO P Sivakumar has said that the same vehicle has come under police net earlier also for violation of the law.

A similar Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 was previously found to break the law as the driver did not submit the toll. So, the police are desperately trying to find the owner of the vehicle. The vehicle has been caught earlier also where it was kept in custody for 20 days before it was relieved. RTO P Sivakumar said that strict action will be taken if it is found to be the same vehicle. It was not like the board was just pasted on the number plate. According to the reports, the owner had first removed the original number plate and then he attached the “Just Married” board.

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The tampering of a registration number plate is a huge offence in India. Each motor vehicle such as trucks, buses, scooters, cars, motorcycles etc. are required to have a unique registration number plate that is issued from RTO or Regional Transport Office. The unique number is provided so that the vehicle could be traced in case of theft or a crime. The registration number is linked to the owner name, chassis number, engine number etc. No two vehicles will ever have the same number plate.

The government also just introduced HSRP number plates which stands for High-Security Registration Plate. The Delhi-NCR has already mandated HSRP number plates. These new registration plates are tamper-proof and are equipped with a single-use bolt that cannot be unscrewed again. The Delhi Transport Department has made compulsory for vehicles sold before April 2019 to have a high-security registration plate.

How is HSRP different from regular number plates?

High-Security Registration Plates comes with a hot-stamped chromium-based hologram number, Ashoka Chakra and letters bearing the inscription ‘India’. The number of plates also comes with 10 digits permanent identification number (PIN) which are branded using a laser. The front and rear number plates get different permanent identification numbers. Once the HSRP plate is fixed to the vehicle, it is electronically linked to a vehicle.

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