Politician caught in Range Rover with fake registration plates – Victim or Cheat?

Maharashtra politician Omie Kalani has found himself embroiled in what appears to be the makings of a fake registration plate case. According to the Mumbai Mirror, a social activist has filed a police complaint against Omie Kalani stating that the politician is using fake registration plates ending with the numbers 7777 on two of his luxury SUVs.

The Mumbai Mirror states that the social activist had spotted a Range Rover bearing the registration number MH04GE7777 speeding along the Kalyan Shilpata road. The SUV also sported tinted windows. The activist took a photograph of the speeding SUV.

The activist, Binu Varghese, fired up the Vahan app and found that the vehicle registered under that registration number was actually a 2013 Mercedes-Benz S-Class registered to another person under the Thane RTO. Suspicious of the fact that a different vehicle was registered as per the app, Varghese called up and informed the Thane Police Control Room (PCR) of his findings.

The Range Rover was intercepted in Mumbra and the cops found Omie Kalani inside. The politician’s son told them to let him off and that he would send them the registration document of the car. However, the documents never turned up.

Now even more suspicious than ever, Varghese fired up the app again and checked the registration of another one of Omie Kalani’s vehicles, which was another Range Rover. The results for the registration number used by the luxury SUV – MH05GE 7777 instead turned out to be for a Toyota Innova Crysta.

Now with something bigger seemingly afoot, Varghese approached the cops. He told the Mumbai Mirror,

“I took it up with the authorities, suspecting that a fake registration number scam was afoot.”

Varghese also stated that there was a chance that Mr Kalani was a victim of the scam stating,

“It’s possible that Omie Kalani was cheated, too.”

Varghese, however, alleges that the police have been sitting on his complaint and are yet to file a formal FIR.

However, the cops state that they are investigating Mr Varghese’s complaints. While the policeman in charge of the Mumbra police Traffic division Sambhaji Jadhav, senior inspector of police stated,

“We have put on paper the facts and have sent a letter to the Daighar police for further inquiry.”

Amit Kale, the deputy commissioner of police (traffic) of Thane, told the Mirror that his department would write to the RTO asking for details about the two vehicles involved. Another Thane officer though stated that the lack of FIR till now was caused by confusion regarding which sections of the Motor Vehicle Act had to be applied in the case.

Mr Kalani claims that he is a victim of mischief, in this case, stating that his penchant for the quadruple sevens had been exploited in the case. He told the Mumbai Mirror,

I keep buying and selling vehicles as I am a partner with an automobile dealer. I use some of the vehicles from the showroom till they are sold. I suspect that the agent through whom I purchased the two cars used these numbers to lure me to buy them.