Following a complaint to Thane Police on Twitter by an Ulhasnagar-based NGO, action was taken against deputy mayor and former standing committee president of Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) for using fancy number plates on their cars.
The police imposed a fine of ₹1,200 on each of them after Hiralal Foundation tweeted about how politicians in the city were allowed to use fancy number plates.
Sarita Khanchandani, a social activist and president of Hiralal Foundation, posted the pictures of fancy number plates of two cars on the Twitter handle of DGP, Maharashtra, Thane city police and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Amit Kale.
She complained about traffic police of Ulhasnagar not taking action on these plates. The two SUV cars are owned by Bhagwan Bhalerao, deputy mayor from RPI, and former leader of the UMC house, Rajendra Chaudhary from Shiv Sena.
Khanchandani, in her tweet, asked why politicos weren’t respecting the law and why police were sparing them while actions were immediately taken against common man.
She said, “I visited the UMC office on October 26, 2020 and found the cars with fancy number plates and tweeted about them. On Tuesday, Bhalerao was penalised for the fancy number plate, and on Wednesday, Chaudhary was penalised. But both of them have not changed the number plates yet. In 2019 too, action was taken against the deputy mayor,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}She said, “I visited the UMC office on October 26, 2020 and found the cars with fancy number plates and tweeted about them. On Tuesday, Bhalerao was penalised for the fancy number plate, and on Wednesday, Chaudhary was penalised. But both of them have not changed the number plates yet. In 2019 too, action was taken against the deputy mayor,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}Shrikant Dharne, senior police inspector, Ulhasnagar traffic police, confirmed about the fine after tweets. “We have fined ₹1,200 each on the two vehicles for fancy number plates, the process is now online. Further action will be taken if the plates are not removed.”
When contacted, both Bhalerao and Chaudhari did not comment on the issue. Bhalerao added, “The case must be online as I do not have knowledge of any such action against me.”