Bengaluru : A major vehicle registration fraud has been unearthed in Bengaluru after police discovered two Swaraj Mazda minibuses operating on city roads with the same registration number. The Electronics City police have arrested two accused in connection with the racket and seized 12 minibuses that were allegedly being operated using forged registration details to evade taxes and government fees.
The arrested accused have been identified as Syed Nazeer (40), a resident of Subhash Nagar in Electronics City, and Nagaraj (52), a transport operator originally from Tamil Nadu who is currently residing in Anekal.
According to the police, the accused allegedly used fake number plates and forged vehicle documents to avoid paying road tax, registration charges, passenger vehicle tax and fitness certificate (FC) fees, resulting in significant revenue loss to the government.
The fraud came to light on June 23 when Head Constable Kedaralinga Tambe and Constable Keshavamurthy were on routine patrol near Manipal County Road. During the patrol, they noticed a Swaraj Mazda minibus overtaking their motorcycle at high speed. The officers noted its registration number as KA-51-B-5959.
To their surprise, barely a minute later, another Swaraj Mazda minibus of the same model passed them carrying the very same registration number. Suspecting foul play, the policemen immediately chased both vehicles and intercepted them near Begur Lake Road.
During verification, investigators found that both minibuses belonged to Syed Nazeer. Police said Nazeer admitted that he had paid taxes for only one vehicle while illegally using the same registration number on another vehicle to evade government taxes and statutory charges.
Further investigation by a team led by Police Inspector Azaruddin exposed a larger racket involving multiple vehicles.
Police said Nazeer allegedly purchased old scrap minibuses, repaired and repainted them before putting them back on the road using forged registration details. The second accused, Nagaraj, allegedly supplied the registration numbers and details of legally registered buses. Using these details, fake vehicle records were allegedly created, allowing the refurbished vehicles to operate without obtaining valid registration or paying mandatory taxes.
Investigators said the illegally operated minibuses were primarily used to transport employees of garment factories in and around Bengaluru. According to police, Nagaraj received a commission for every fake registration detail and document supplied to Nazeer.
Officials believe the accused systematically cheated the government by avoiding payment of road tax, registration charges, passenger transport taxes and fitness certificate renewal fees for several vehicles. The operation is suspected to have caused substantial financial losses to the state exchequer.
During the investigation, police seized 12 minibuses belonging to Swaraj Mazda, Mahindra and Eicher. The vehicles have been taken into custody for detailed verification, and authorities are examining whether additional forged registrations were used in the racket.
Both accused have been remanded to judicial custody. Police are continuing the investigation to determine whether more transport operators, document forgers or middlemen were involved in the network.
Officials also said the case has highlighted the need for stricter monitoring by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to detect duplicate registrations, forged documents and tax evasion. Police have urged transport authorities to strengthen verification mechanisms to prevent similar frauds in the future.
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