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Rolls Royce, once owned by Amitabh Bachchan, among 7 cars seized in Karnataka
A Karnataka transport department official said the person driving the Rolls Royce produced a declaration, said to have been given by super star Amitabh Bachchan, that he has sold the vehicle to the Bengaluru realtor.
BENGALURU: A Rolls Royce car that once belonged to superstar Amitabh Bachchan was among the seven vehicles seized by Karnataka transport department on Sunday during a drive to check registration papers of luxury cars in the city
The vehicles were seized by the transport department because the car documents were not available.
“We don’t know who it belongs to. There are no documents available with them (drivers). That’s why the vehicles were seized,” said Karnataka transport commissioner N Shiva Kumar.
According to the motor vehicle law, vehicle owners are required to obtain a new registration certificate and pay the state’s road tax if a vehicle registered in another state is kept in the state for more than 12 months. The owner can apply for a refund of the road tax from the state where it was originally registered.
“Some of these cars bore registration numbers belonging to Maharashtra or Pondicherry. These cars have not paid road tax in Karnataka… (which results in) a big loss to the state exchequer,” he added.
The special checking was conducted near UB city mall, a popular shopping destination in Bengaluru.
Apart from the Rolls Royce, officials said the other cars seized on Sunday include an Audi, Range Rover, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, and Jaguar. The vehicles have been kept at the Road Transport Office (RTO) in Nelamangala on the outskirts of Karnataka’s capital city Bengaluru.
Of the seven, only one car owner has come forward with the documents so far and the documents presented are being verified.
Karnataka’s additional transport commissioner (enforcement) Narendra Holkar said the person driving the Rolls Royce could not produce the relevant documents but only had a letter purportedly signed by Amitabh Bachchan stating that the vehicle was sold to him
Vahan (the Government of India database) does not reflect any details about the vehicle. “So, we have seized the vehicle to examine the claims made by the driver, said Holkar.
On Monday, a person who identified himself as a realtor, Babu, said he purchased the car from the superstar in 2019 for ₹6 crore.
“The family uses the car on Sundays and when they came out (on Sunday), the department seized the vehicle. In my case, the driver couldn’t produce the original documents. The documents are at home, and I have told them that I will bring them to the RTO,” said Babu.
Babu said the vehicle ownership documents were not transferred from the actor to his name when he bought the car.
Officials said the vehicle owners may have to pay heavy penalties if they cannot produce the required documentation.
“The due process will be followed. In case anyone is found violating rules fines will impose and if they can’t produce any documents, there is an option of auctioning these vehicles. We have done such auctions in the past,” said a senior department official.
Luxury cars had last come under the scanner of the Karnataka Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Mangaluru in March this year when it probed a case of alleged middlemen selling luxury cars in violation of legal processes.
