1 numberplate, 2 bikes: Man learns of fraud on traffic cops’ MTP app

MUMBAI: A series of e-challans issued by Mumbai traffic police for various violations alerted a businessman to the fact that the registration number of his two-wheeler was simultaneously being used by another vehicle. Suspecting it to be a thief at work, the businessman has dashed off complaints to every authority, in the hope that the culprit is brought to book soon.
S K Jayant (62) had purchased a two-wheeler around Diwali this year.He was very careful about following traffic rules whenever he was out riding it. Recently, he learnt of the traffic police’s smartphone app (MTP app) where any motorist can key in his vehicle registration number and view e-challans issued against his vehicle and pay them. But Jayant was not prepared for what he saw.

“There were two e-challans issued in the month of November to a two-wheeler that had a completely different make but its numberplate was exactly the same as my vehicle. One of these violations was helmetless riding and the other was halting on the stop line. Police cameras had captured an image of the two-wheeler while it was committing the second offence. The app does not permit enlarging images so I took my son-in-law’s help,” said Jayant. The two men took screenshots from the app and then enlarged these to understand what was going on. The image they saw was of another two-wheeler—not even remotely similar to Jayant’s bike in appearance.
Jayant was in Pune for work at the time and was contemplating what to do. Then on December 9, two more e-challans were issued by the police to the other scooter. The offences were the same —helmetless riding and halting on the stop line. “By now, I was very worried. I could take my documentation to the traffic cops and get the e-challans erased, but what if this scooterist was involved in any kind of criminal activity? That would bring the cops straight to my doorstep,” said Jayant. He immediately left for Mumbai from Pune.
“I had bought my bike from a dealer, and not second-hand. I first approached the regional transport office (RTO) and verified that my bike’s engine number and chassis number were correct. I then wrote a complaint to the traffic police, attaching documentation and photos. They confirmed that the four e-challans would be erased but there was a strong possibility that the scooterist would commit more violations and invite more challans in future,” said Jayant.
He wanted to find a permanent solution to the problem and was directed to the Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station in Kurla in whose jurisdiction he lives.
The police spoke to Jayant at length on Wednesday and launched a probe to track down the scooterist.