PUNE: An SUV owner dodged prying eyes of CCTV cameras on roads while speeding and skirted challans as he concealed the vehicle’s registration just by pressing a button. The Tathawade man ran out of luck on Tuesday.The Pimpri Chinchwad RTO tracked him down after a video of his Fortuner’s auto-hiding number plate purportedly on Pune-Mumbai Expressway went viral on social media. He was fined Rs 4,500 for unauthorised alteration in his vehicle and the amount was collected on Tuesday.Pimpri Chinchwad regional transport officer Sandesh Chavan told TOI, “After the video was circulated, we checked the SUV’s registration number and found that it had been registered with the RTO office here. Checks on the vehicle revealed that a device connected with wires was installed on the registration number plate. The vehicle owner operated it through a button. When the button is pressed, a black shutter comes down and covers the registration number of the SUV.”A source in the RTO said the vehicle had 55 pending e-challans, amounting to a total of Rs 1.22 lakh. Most of the challans have been slapped on the vehicle owner for speeding. Each time a fine of Rs 2,000 was slapped on him. Chavan said, “We issued the vehicle owner a fresh challan of Rs 4,500 for unauthorised alteration in the vehicle. He has been warned against repeating the offence and advised to clear all the pending fines without delay.”He said, “The vehicle owner has been called to the RTO this week again with his vehicle. We will thoroughly check all his vehicle documents again. This is a serious case and we want to set an example so that no one tries the same trick.”Dealers selling automobile spare parts said number plate hiders were easily available on different e-commerce websites for as low as Rs 350 to Rs 400. “We don’t keep it as it is illegal. But some vehicle owners order number plate hiders and a few spare parts shops install the same. Some shops even sell it secretly,” a dealer said,requesting anonymity.
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