Father-Son Duo Booked for Using Forged Number Plate On Mercedes to Evade Traffic Challans

Nagpur: In a bizarre attempt to dodge traffic fines, a father-son duo from Nagpur was booked for swapping the number plate of their luxury car with that of a vehicle registered in Mumbai. The fraud came to light only when the city traffic police happened to tow away the illegally parked vehicle from Alankar Chowk.
Traffic constable Surendra Pagare spotted the Mercedes-Benz parked improperly, and ran a check through the e-challan system. The registration number, MH-02-DZ-5061, showed ownership of Hanet Arora, a resident of Mira Road, Mumbai. When contacted by Nagpur police, Arora confirmed that his car was safely parked at his Mumbai residence. He also revealed that he had filed a complaint with Kashimira traffic division after receiving e-challan messages for violations in Nagpur, a city he has never visited.
The Nagpur traffic department seized the Mercedes and towed it to the Sitabuldi traffic office near Meetha Neem Durgah for inspection. The car driver, Harish Devicharan Tiwari, failed to produce any ownership documents. His wife, who was with him, claimed the car belonged to her husband's employer. Harish attempted to contact his son, Yash Harish Tiwari, but neither could provide valid paperwork.
A detailed inspection revealed that the car's engine and chassis numbers didn't match the Mumbai registration. Instead, the actual registration number of the car turned out to be MH-31-EX-9993, registered in Nagpur. Speaking to TOI, DCP (traffic) Archit Chandak said the department marked Arora's registration as ‘suspicious' in the Motor Vehicle Challan system after the earlier complaint. "Our device instantly flags cloned plates or stolen vehicles. That helped us catch the fraud," Chandak explained.
Chandak added that while the incident appears to be a one-off case for now, the investigation is ongoing. "The accused admitted they clicked a photo of Arora's number plate during a trip to Mumbai and later duplicated it. While they claim it was random, we are probing whether there's any old enmity or connection between them," he said. "This was not just a traffic violation — it was a premeditated act."
Police suspect the motive was to avoid detection and transfer any future traffic fines onto an unsuspecting owner living over 800km away. The Bajaj Nagar police have booked Harish and Yash Tiwari under the relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for forgery and cheating, along with provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, including Section 192 for unauthorised use of a registration plate.
Mercedes Plate Swap Scam Busted
* Father-son duo Harish and Yash Tiwari booked for swapping Nagpur-registered Mercedes-Benz's number plate with Mumbai vehicle's number plate to evade traffic fines
* Fraud exposed after traffic constable flagged suspicious parking near Alankar Chowk, discovered number was registered to Mumbai resident Hanet Arora
* Inspection revealed engine and chassis numbers mismatch, confirming car's actual registration as MH-31-EX-9993 from Nagpur
* Accused admitted to photographing and copying Mumbai number plate
* Bajaj Nagar police registered FIR for forgery and cheating, along with Motor Vehicles Act violations