Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik
Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said RTOs have been told to identify vehicles carrying such number-plate concealment devices, as well as shops and online platforms selling them. “This is a serious matter and needs to be addressed,” Sarnaik told TOI . State transport commissioner Rajesh Narvekar said RTOs across Maharashtra and enforcement teams would check vehicles for such devices. “Offenders will immediately be fined,” he said. Officials from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad RTOs said they would carry out checks as part of ongoing enforcement drives. “A drive to check HSRPs is under way — during these checks, we will also inspect number plates to check for concealment equipment,” a Pune RTO official said.
However, we conduct random checks on highways and will look for these devices too,” superintendent of police Shivaji Pawar said, promising action against offenders. I doubt they will be able to control such devices,” said Prathak Shinde. NIBM Road resident Vinod Angle said authorities should also target accessory and spare-parts shops selling illegal modifications. If they are serious, they should start by checking small and large auto-accessory and spare-parts shops,” he said.
The Pune highway safety patrol will also join the crackdown. “We have not come across such equipment in any vehicle recently. But residents were sceptical of the drive’s efficacy. “Authorities announce drives and campaigns every time something happens. For over a year, they have struggled to ensure decent HSRP compliance. Vehicles without HSRPs continue to move around freely. “There are so many vehicles moving without registration numbers or with fancy number plates. Why have authorities not been able to control this despite having the resources?