Woman BMW owner forges Ratan Tata’s car number, luxury car seized

After Mumbai Police unearthed the Rs 100 crore scam done by Dilip Chhabria and his associates by tracking a fake number plate, they have now seized a BMW with a forged registration. Mumbai Police have seized the BMW with forged registration number and shockingly, the owner of the car chose a registration number that belongs to the notable industrialist Ratan Tata. The police have also lodged relevant cases against the woman.

As per the woman, who was caught with the forged registration number, she did it for numerological reasons. She told the police that she did not realise that the registration number belongs to Ratan Tata. The cops have also said that Ratan Tata received a few challans that were done by this BMW too. Mumbai Police took action after receiving a complaint on the fake registration number. The original number belongs to Ratan Tata’s Corvette.

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To catch the BMW with forged registration number, Mumbai Police tracked the car using several CCTV footage. The woman owner’s name is withheld but the cops have revealed that she is a director in a private firm. While scanning through the CCTV footage, the cops also found out several violations done by the vehicle. The Mumbai Police have registered a case under various sections. The woman is held of cheating under section 420 and forgery under 465 of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicle Act. The police will further investigate the matter to see if this is some kind of racket to evade the tax.

Tampering with registration number can invite jail time

It is a major offence to tamper the registration number in India and change it as per convenience. Each motor vehicle including cars, trucks, buses, two-wheelers, and everything else gets a unique registration number from the RTO or the Regional Transport Office. This allows the police to track the vehicle in case of a theft or a crime. The registration number of a vehicle is linked to its chassis number and engine number. No two vehicles can have the same chassis number, engine number and registration number in India. Changing the registration number is a criminal offence and the vehicle gets seized immediately.

This is why the Indian government has introduced the High-Security Registration Plate or HSRP. Currently, the Delhi-NCR authorities have mandated the use of HSRP and any vehicle without these high-security plates get challans. These registration plates are tamper-proof and are screwed to the vehicle using a single-use bolt that cannot be opened again.

In the past, the cops have seized many vehicles for using tampered registration plate. However, this is the first instance when someone has used the registration number that belongs to a popular personality.

Customised registration numbers in India?

Unlike many foreign countries where you can choose customised registration for the vehicle by paying the extra amount, there is no such provision in India. Here the RTO release a list of special VIP numbers that are then sold for a premium price. The most popular registration numbers even get bids against them. In India, the most expensive registration number ever sold is about Rs 32 lakh. However, in many foreign countries including UAE, such auctions can go up to multi-crores.

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