Cars With Same Number Plates Lead To Security Scare At Mumbai's Taj Hotel, Police Uncovers A Bizarre Story
When Sakir Ali dropped a passenger at the Taj Hotel on Monday, he spotted the doppelganger car- Ertiga with the same number plate. When he tried to stop the driver, the culprit fled with the car.
A Mumbai cab driver's desperate attempt to evade loan recovery agents led to a security scare at the city's iconic Taj Mahal Palance Hotel on Monday.
The cab driver, in order to escape recovery agents, forged his number plate, reached the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where he was discovered by the driver of vehicle with the original numbers. The driver, Sakir Ali, quickly alerted the police.
The Taj hotel being a sensitive area as it was the prime target of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the security agencies rushed to the spot. The two vehicles were immediately brought to the Colaba Police Station and the drivers were questioned. The police found out a bizarre story to the identical nameplates.
The Bizarre Tale Of Identical Nameplates
Sakir Ali owns a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and was the original owner of the car with the number plate MH01 EE 2388.
He has been receiving challans against his vehicle for over six months, according to a report in NDTV. Sometimes, Ali would receive the challan twice a week for violations he didn't commit.
मुंबई के ताज होटल में एक ही नंबर प्लेट वाली दो गाड़ियां मिलीं हैं. जो एक ही मॉडल की हैं. ये गाड़ियां होटल के अंदर संदिग्ध हालत में खड़ी पाई गईं. पुलिस इन गाड़ियों की जांच कर रही है.#Mumbai #TajHotel #Car #NumberPlate #ABPNews pic.twitter.com/mQfEogwxKB
— ABP News (@ABPNews) January 6, 2025
The string of challans surprised Ali as they issued in areas where his car wouldn't ply. Though he tried to complain regarding the 'discrepancy' in challans, there was no solution to his problems.
However, the report said that Sakir Ali got a hint of the problem, after a driver working for Ali spotted the doppelganger car in Bandra and clicked a photograph. But, the vehicle couldn't be tracked down.
On Monday, when Ali dropped a passenger at the Taj Hotel at around 11:30 am, he spotted the doppelganger car- Ertiga with the same number plate.
When he tried to stop the driver, he escaped with the car, following which Ali informed the cops.
"When I was going to drop my client, I saw another car with the same number plate. The owner of the car with the same number plate tried to run away when I approached him. The traffic police caught him... I had complained about this earlier too, but no action was being taken," Sakir Ali told news agnecy ANI.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Sakir Ali says, "...When I was going to drop my client, I saw another car with the same number plate. The owner of the car with the same number plate tried to run away when I approached him. The traffic police caught him...I had complained about this earlier too,… https://t.co/TfQEQDu1Z4 pic.twitter.com/VHCXLn5DnD
— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2025
The police successfully caught the other car and brought the vehicle to the Colaba police station.
The police upon investigation found that the other car's registration was MH01EE2383, not MH01EE2388. Prasad Kadam, the driver of the Ertiga, revealed that he changed the last digit from '3' to '8' to evade loan recovery agents. The driver was struggling to pay EMIs to settle the loan, so he changed the last digit.
"During the investigation, it was found that Prasad Kadam (resident of Seawoods, Navi Mumbai) had made changes to his car's number plate intentionally because he had taken a car loan from Chola Mandlam & he was unable to pay the loan. The investigation is underway," the police said in a statement.
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