Three hydra cranes worth Rs 20 lakh seized in Nagpur over alleged fake number plates

Unit-2 of the Nagpur Crime Branch has seized three hydra cranes in an action in the Kapil Nagar police station area. The heavy vehicles were allegedly being run with invalid registration and number plates fixed fraudulently. The three vehicles are said to be worth about Rs 20 lakh in all.

The unit had received confidential information about the suspicious movement and use of such heavy vehicles. Acting on the tip, the team immediately mounted an operation in the Kapil Nagar area and stopped the vehicles. Checks reportedly revealed serious irregularities in their registration details, after which the three hydra cranes were seized.

According to police, the accused had bought vehicles such as JCBs and hydra cranes that had already been declared scrap elsewhere. The registration number of one vehicle was then allegedly used to establish the identity of another. In other words, machines that had allegedly been scrapped in another state were put on Nagpur's roads after their registration identity was changed.

It is also alleged that the accused knew the machines had been scrapped and could be unsafe to run on the road, yet kept operating them without valid registration. This put the safety of other road users at risk. Police have also found alleged violations of the prescribed rules on transfer of vehicle ownership.

Firoz Alam and Ajghar Hussain have been identified as the accused in the case. Both live in the Yashodhara Nagar area. A case has been registered against them over the alleged fraudulent use of vehicle registration numbers and other violations.

The case has been registered at Kapil Nagar police station under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Motor Vehicles Act. Further investigation is under way.

Police are now trying to get to the bottom of the entire racket. Investigators are examining how long the vehicles had allegedly been running with fabricated registration identities and where they were obtained from. They are also checking whether the same registration numbers were being misused elsewhere.

Police are also looking into whether any other person, vehicle dealers or middlemen were involved in buying, modifying and operating the scrapped machines.

The seizure of the three heavy vehicles has raised serious questions about the monitoring of scrapped vehicles, the checking of registration documents and the enforcement of road safety rules. If condemned heavy vehicles return to the roads through alleged registration fraud, the matter goes beyond financial irregularity and becomes a major danger to motorists and pedestrians, because such machines cannot be guaranteed to be roadworthy and safe.