Ahmedabad: A luxury passenger bus with a fake numberplate was caught during an early-morning vehicle checking drive at Mevad toll naka on the Mehsana-Ahmedabad highway. The action was carried out by the Mehsana Regional Transport Office (RTO) team.According to a complaint filed by Hitesh Gurunani, assistant motor vehicle inspector at the Mehsana RTO, the team stopped a yellow sleeper luxury bus and directed the driver to pull over for inspection. The registration number displayed on the bus was RJ-21-PB-1007.During verification, the bus driver, Ayubkhan Mubarakkhan, allegedly failed to provide tax-related details for the vehicle. RTO officials then arranged for passengers to be shifted to another bus heading to Ahmedabad to avoid inconvenience. The luxury bus, along with the driver, was taken to the Mehsana RTO office for further action.Officials issued an online detention memo through the e-challan system, and the bus was detained at the RTO premises. The detention details were also reflected on the national e-challan application, enabling other RTO offices to view the status.The RTO office in Bhinmal, Rajasthan, after going through the national portal e-challan details, sent an email to the Mehsana RTO stating that the bus was not actually registered as RJ-21-PB-1007 and that its registration number was RJ-46-PA-1527. The email also indicated that Rajasthan road tax was allegedly not paid for a long period.Following internal verification, the Mehsana RTO concluded that a false numberplate was used to evade tax, causing financial loss to the govt. After this, a complaint was registered. The Mehsana taluka police registered a case on Monday under BNS Section 336(3) (forgery intending that the document or electronic record forged shall be used for the purpose of cheating), 336(2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will), and 340 (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) against Mubarakkhan, the bus driver.
