Nagpur: In a major exposure of an alleged vehicle registration racket, the Nagpur Crime Branch Unit-2 has unearthed a disturbing practice of putting scrapped and potentially unsafe heavy vehicles back on city roads by giving them a false identity. Acting on a tip-off, the Crime Branch raided the Kapil Nagar police station area and seized three hydro crane vehicles allegedly being operated with invalid registration credentials and fraudulently displayed number plates. The seized vehicles are collectively valued at approximately Rs 20 lakh.
The investigation has brought to light how vehicles reportedly scrapped in another State were allegedly being used on Nagpur roads by manipulating their registration identities. According to the police, the accused had procured JCB/hydro crane vehicles that had been declared scrap elsewhere and subsequently used the registration number of one vehicle to falsely identify another.
Despite allegedly knowing that the machines had been scrapped and were potentially unsafe for road use, the accused continued to operate them without valid registration, putting the safety of other road users at risk. The police have also detected alleged violations of prescribed vehicle ownership transfer procedures.
The racket came to light after Crime Branch Unit-2 received confidential information about the suspicious movement and operation of such heavy vehicles. Acting swiftly, the team conducted an operation in the Kapil Nagar area and intercepted the vehicles. Verification reportedly revealed serious discrepancies in their registration details, following which all three hydro cranes were seized.
The accused have been identified as Firoz Alam and Azgar Hussain, both residents of the Yashodhara Nagar area. They have been booked in connection with the alleged fraudulent use of vehicle registration numbers and other violations.
A case has been registered at Kapil Nagar police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Motor Vehicles Act. Further investigation is underway.
Police probe wider racket
The seizure of three heavy vehicles has raised serious questions about the monitoring of scrapped vehicles, verification of registration documents and enforcement of road safety regulations. Investigators are now examining how long these vehicles had been operating with allegedly fabricated registration identities, from where they were procured, and whether the same registration numbers were being misused elsewhere.
The police are also probing whether other persons, vehicle dealers or intermediaries were involved in procuring, modifying and operating the scrapped machines.
The case has exposed the potential dangers of allowing condemned heavy vehicles to return to public roads through alleged registration fraud. Beyond the financial irregularities, the use of such machines poses a serious threat to motorists and pedestrians, as their roadworthiness and safety cannot be taken for granted.
