Karnataka: Mercedes with fake licence plate seized, owner escapes

BENGALURU: In a pre-dawn operation, regional transport office (RTO) personnel and police seized a Mercedes Benz with a fake registration number plate on Mysuru Road on Tuesday.
However, the vehicle owner, Raju K Gowda, a quarry owner, small-time politician and resident of Keragodu in Mandya district, who was detained by RTO officials, managed to escape by scaling the compound wall of Yeshwantpur RTO, where he was taken around 6am.Yeshwantpur police have launched a manhunt for Gowda.
H Rajanna, inspector, Yeshwantpur RTO, said Gowda’s Merc was seized after a four day operation.
“A few days ago, we received credible information that two Mercedes Benz sedans bearing the same registration number (KA 05-MW-6201) were on the road. On inspecting, we zeroed in on the two owners: one was from Sanjaynagar in Bengaluru and the other was based in Mandya,” he said.
Further investigation helped RTO officials concluded that one of the Mercs was carrying a fake registration number and was owned by Gowda.
“We decided to seize his vehicle. We formed a special team which worked round the clock for four days to trace him. Finally, we traced the car near Mylasandra on Mysuru Road around 4am on Tuesday. With help from local police, we detained Gowda and seized the vehicle,” he said.
Rajanna said Gowda confessed to his crime. “After seizing the car, we shifted Gowda to a police jeep and started driving towards Yeshwantpur RTO. During the drive, Gowda confessed to the crime. He said he purchased the vehicle in 2013, but never got it registered. However, he did not tell us why he chose this particular number. Once we alighted from the vehicle at the RTO office, he escaped,” said Rajanna.
Police sources said though the vehicle was not registered, CCTV cameras at toll gates and petrol bunks helped them identify Gowda as its owner. “At a petrol bunk, Gowda swiped his credit card to pay the fuel bill. That’s where we got his address and contact details. Before this, we had identified the car when it passed the toll gate near Bellur Cross on Mangaluru highway,” they added.