SUV with fake ‘0007’ plate seized for speeding in Gurugram, 1 held

The suspect was later revealed to be a garment merchant who had purchased the SUV only two months prior

A 25-year-old man was arrested after his speeding SUV was intercepted at the T-point near the Mini Secretariat on Old Railway Road while he was attempting to flee on an SUV with ‘0007’ written on its number plate, which the police said was an unauthorised registration number, officers familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Subhash Boken, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said the suspect purchased the SUV from Rohtak only two months ago but never had the registration plates fixed even after the number was allotted. (HT Photo)

The suspect was later revealed to be a garment merchant who had purchased the SUV only two months prior and was using such a number to show off and to mislead police, investigators said.

Around 1.30pm on Monday, the local police control room sent out a wireless transmission alerting all patrol teams to a suspicious Mahindra Thar, which ‘HOODA 0007’ written on the rear and the front number plates, and dark window panes.

According to investigators, a resident informed the control room about the SUV’s reckless driving and illegal licence plate, after which police teams began tracking it.

At 2pm, a traffic team at the entrance to the Mini Secretariat premises noticed an SUV of similar specifications speeding towards them from Rajeev Chowk, said police officers associated with the case.

According to them, the patrolling team immediately blocked the traffic, trapping the Thar driver and overpowering him.

After questioning, the suspect was identified as Mohit Hooda, a resident of Rurki in Rohtak, who was inspired by a fictional spy character in a film series to create the fake number plate.

According to investigators, he failed to produce valid documents for the vehicle, which was immediately seized.

Subhash Boken, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said the suspect purchased the SUV from Rohtak only two months ago but never had the registration plates fixed even after the number was allotted.

“The suspect is a garment trader who lives in Sector 92. We are verifying all his information,” he added.

A first information report was registered against the suspect under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 476 (counterfeiting device or mark used for authenticating documents) and 190(2) (driving a vehicle in public which violates the standards prescribed in relation to road safety, control of noise and air pollution) of the Motor Vehicles Act at Shivaji Nagar police station on Monday evening, said the police.