A 42-year-old Vasai-based businessman has received an e challan for driving without a helmet, not a bike though. Navneet Bharadwaj was fined Rs 500 for driving his car without a helmet. The challan that he received on his registered mobile number also had an additional fine of R200 for parked his vehicle on the stop line/pedestrian crossway mark on July 22.

I was shocked when I received the message regarding driving without helmet. "I am Punjabi Brahmin (wearing a turban) and do not own any bike or scooter. I only own a car that I use for my personal use. When I checked with a few traffic police officers, they said that the fine had been imposed for some traffic violations in the Bandra area. I had, however, never visited Bandra in the period they mentioned," Bharadwaj said.

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The bike with the same registration numbers. Pics/Hanif Patel

Upon checking the details on the e-challan portal of the Maharashtra traffic police, "I was further shocked to see pictures of a bike with the same registration number as that of my car's." He then approached the traffic officer in Bandra, and even the traffic police office in Andheri to explain the issue to the officers there. "I even showed them the e-challan images of the bike which had violated the rules but no one helped me," said Bharadwaj.

If vehicles with similar registration numbers are in the city, "how am I at fault?" he questioned. "The one who violates laws should be punished. This is a lapse on the part of the traffic department that inconveniences innocent people like me," he added. Traffic DCP Sandeep Bhajibhakre (western suburbs) told mid-day that he would look into the "shocking matter and try to resolve it at the earliest from my end."

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The car with the same registration numbers

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