Ahmedabad: The death of a 22-year-old youth in an accident in Juhapura has exposed what officials describe as a systemic lapse. Authorities estimate that as many as 5 lakh to 6 lakh vehicles in Gujarat lack valid plates or carry tampered ones. Every tenth vehicle checked in enforcement drives raises a red flag, according to traffic police.“According to rules, no vehicle can be driven out of a showroom without a numberplate. Yet, several dealers deliver vehicles without a valid numberplate despite it being an offence,” said a senior police officer, refusing to be named. A quick scan of social media posts shows the scale of the problem, said an officer. “At least one out of three posts featuring vehicle deliveries shows them being driven out without numberplates,” the officer added.While no RTO officer was willing to be quoted formally, one said, “It is the dealers’ responsibility to ensure numberplates are affixed before delivery.”N N Chaudhary, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said enforcement drives routinely detect violations. “During checks, we find that about one out of every 10 vehicles either does not have a numberplate or has a tampered one. Cases are registered against such offenders,” he said.A senior RTO officer indicated that the practice is more common among two-wheelers, as well as in certain high-end and SUV segments. Dealers are required to have in-house numberplate installation facilities, but many have not set these up, leading to delays and unlawful deliveries.Authorities also flagged manipulation in older vehicles. In some cases, numberplates are altered or completely painted white, allegedly to evade CCTV detection. “In such cases, it is the responsibility of the vehicle owner to get it made again, but the owners do it to avoid being caught on CCTV cameras,” said an officer.A traffic cop said, “Recently, I caught a car which did not have a numberplate. The driver claimed that the numberplate was yet to be delivered. However, when I checked the meter reading, I found that the vehicle had been driven for over 20,000km.”
