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Car parked at home, its owner gets bike challan — ‘pillion rider without helmet’
DSP (Traffic) Karnail Singh said that if a challan appears “disputed or objectionable”, the vehicle owner can file a written representation along with a copy of the challan before the DSP Traffic or SP Traffic.
Notably, the motorcycle in the image bore the same registration number as Gupta’s car. (Credits: Pixabay)
A case of a disputed e-challan has put Mohali’s camera based traffic enforcement system under the scanner.
In the latest instance, Chandigarh’s Dhanas resident and car owner Harish Gupta received an e-challan carrying his car’s registration number, but the accompanying photograph showed a motorcyclist. The violation cited was “pillion rider without helmet” — an offence that clearly does not apply to a car.
Gupta said his vehicle was parked at home at the time the challan was issued. The notice was generated based on footage captured near the PTL light point in Industrial Area, Phase 2.
Notably, the motorcycle in the image bore the same registration number as Gupta’s car. Both vehicles are learnt to have high-security number plates, pointing to a possible case of number plate cloning.
Gupta added that similar incidents had earlier surfaced in Chandigarh, where food delivery riders were allegedly using fake number plates, resulting in challans being sent to genuine vehicle owners.
“They were caught only after considerable effort,”he said. He has sought cancellation of the erroneous challan, a fair probe, and strict action against those responsible.
DSP (Traffic) Karnail Singh said that if a challan appears “disputed or objectionable”, the vehicle owner can file a written representation along with a copy of the challan before the DSP Traffic or SP Traffic.
“Immediate action will be taken and the case verified in the system,” he said.
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The DSP added that errors can occur due to unclear imaging or misreading of number plate series (such as A, B, C, D), which are rectified after due verification. “If number plate cloning is detected, the challan is corrected and the number is fed into the alert system across all cameras used by Punjab Police. This helps in quickly tracking the offender and initiating legal action,” he said.
The DSP urged citizens not to ignore such cases and to promptly lodge complaints with complete details and relevant documents before the competent authority.
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