Bengaluru: A routine police patrol led to the exposure of a vehicle registration fraud after officers spotted two Swaraj Mazda minibuses plying on the road with the same registration number.Further investigation uncovered a larger racket, with police seizing 12 minibuses and arresting two individuals allegedly involved in the scam. According to investigators, fake registration numbers were affixed to the vehicles to evade payment of road taxes.The arrested are Syed Nazir, 40, a resident of Subhashnagar in Electronics City, and Nagaraj, 52, a resident of Anekal and a native of Tamil Nadu.Electronics City police personnel cracked open a vehicle registration fraud after they spotted two Swaraj Mazda minibuses bearing the same registration number on Manipal County Road. On June 23, head constable Kedaraling Tambe and constable Keshavamurthy were on patrol when a speeding Swaraj Mazda minibus overtook their motorcycle. Tambe noticed its registration number as KA-51-B-5959. Barely a minute later, another Swaraj Mazda minibus sped past—and to his surprise, it too displayed the same registration number, prompting the officers to launch an investigation.Tambe and Keshavamurthy followed the vehicles for one-and-a-half km and intercepted them near Begur Lake Road. The drivers were identified as Syed Nazir, 40, and Parbeh, 31, of Bettadasanpura.During questioning, Nazir admitted that both vehicles belonged to him and confessed to using the same number on both. He had paid taxes for only one vehicle while affixing the same number to the other, thereby evading govt dues.The two vehicles and their drivers were brought to the police station for inquiry. A case was registered under Section 318 (cheating) of the BNS. Inspector Azheruddin and his team found that Nazir is a heavy vehicle mechanic who used to take scrap vehicles and remove the parts to use them for other vehicles. He used to repair and repaint vehicles and use fake registration numbers on minibuses.During interrogation, Nazir told police that the registration numbers had been supplied by Nagaraj, a transporter. According to investigators, Nagaraj allegedly provided the registration numbers of genuine buses matching the make and model of Nazir’s vehicles. Using those details, Nazir allegedly created forged registration documents and deployed the minibuses to ferry employees of garment factories. Police said Nagaraj charged a commission for each registration number and forged document he arranged. Based on Nazir’s statement and the subsequent investigation, Nagaraj was arrested.Nazir used to save on road tax, registration tax, passenger vehicle tax (based on seating capacity), and fitness certificate charges by using the numbers provided by Nagaraj, an officer said.Police have seized 12 vehicles, including Swaraj Mazda, Mahindra and Eicher minibuses, from the accused. Nazir and Nagaraj have been remanded to judicial custody.Investigators suspect the fraud extends beyond the two accused. “This appears to be a larger racket, and several others may be involved in similar activities. RTO officials need to take serious note of the modus operandi,” a police officer said.
