Fake portal dupes Pune vehicle owners over registration plates, victims file complaint with cyber police

With the deadline approaching, owners are rushing to register their vehicles. In Pune alone, over 25 lakh old vehicle owners are eligible, and as of February 23, 80,604 have registered. Of these, 24,041 have been assigned time slots for vehicle inspection, and 16,454 vehicles have already had their HSRPs installed, according to the RTO.

Kailash Gaikwad, who applied for an HSRP number plate on February 12, told The Indian Express that he registered through a website displayed at the Pune RTO office. “I accessed the web portal while standing at the RTO office and followed the process. After receiving an OTP, I scanned a QR code, which showed a charge of ₹899 instead of the government’s fixed rate of ₹499. At the time, I was unaware of the official rate. I received an email stating that my plate would arrive in a few days, but I still haven’t received it,” he said.

The confirmation message after the payment read: “Thank you for booking. Order ID… You will receive your delivery within 15-20 working days via email.”

Sensing something was amiss, Gaikwad approached RTO officials, who confirmed that he had been duped.

A similar experience was reported by Kishor Sahane, who applied for an HSRP plate for his four-wheeler nearly 20 days ago. “After the government resolution (GR) was issued, I hurried to complete the process. But even after 20 days, I have not received my number plate,” he said. Sahane received the same confirmation message as Gaikwad.

However, Swapnil Bhosale, Deputy RTO, Pune, stated that no such complaints had been received yet. When asked about the possibility of fraud through fake websites, he acknowledged the risk and urged vehicle owners to use the official portal: Transport.maharashtra.gov.in.

The Pune RTO reported that as of February 23, more than 16,000 citizens have had their HSRP installed, while 24,000 registrants have received time slots, and over 80,000 citizens have completed online registration.