In a rather interesting turn of events, two Maruti Ertiga taxi vehicles have been found with the same registration plates. This is not a glitch by the Maharashtra RTO Department, but a case of forgery caused by the accused, who have been apprehended. Both vehicles were found parked at Taj Palace hotel in South Mumbai, which led to this confrontation.
Two Ertiga Taxi With Same No
It all started when complainant Sakir Ali realised that he was being issued with multiple e-challans for frequent traffic violations. These e-challans often have photographic proof of the traffic offending vehicle. And in those e-challans, would be attached pictures of a Maruti Ertiga Taxi with the same registration plates as Sakir Ali’s.
After some time, Sakir Ali felt something was fishy and he pursued the matter. That afternoon, Sakir Ali found another Maruti Ertiga taxi with the same registration plates as his vehicle. Both vehicles were said to be parked at Taj Palace hotel in South Mumbai.
Sakir Ali confronted the driver of the imposter vehicle, who was identified to be Prasad Chandrakant Kadam. This 38 year old Navi Mumbai resident is also the owner of said Maruti Ertiga taxi (Ertiga Tour M) which was spotted with forged registration plates.
As per the Police, both vehicles were spotted at Taj Palace hotel in South Mumbai, where Sakir Ali confronted Prasad Chandrakant Kadam. Both vehicles were brought to Colaba Police Station and Kadam, the accused, was arrested based on Ali’s complaint under Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS).
Motive Behind Forgery
38-year old Navi Mumbai resident, Prasad Chandrakant Kadam, was said to be on the verge of evading finance companies and is mentioned to be the primary motive for forgery route. Kadam bought his vehicle on a loan. He simply failed to pay up the fixed EMI (Equated Monthly Installment) on time.
To evade this financing company from confiscating his vehicle, Kadam illegally changed his car’s registration plates. As per the Police, Kadam’s Maruti Ertiga had been confiscated before due to pending EMI payments. His vehicle was returned when Kadam managed to give some money to this financing company.
To prevent his vehicle from being confiscated again by the financing company, Kadam resorted to illegal measures. With stricter enforcements of HSRP (High Security Registration Plates), these issues might be mitigated to a certain degree. Each vehicle has to be registered online and the HSRP of corresponding vehicle will be issued, thus reducing forgeries.
