Inter-State Vehicle Fraud: Kerala MVD Detects Re-Registration of Scrapped Govt Bike

Kollam (Kerala): The Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) in Punalur has uncovered a suspected inter-state vehicle fraud after a two-wheeler, previously scrapped by the Kerala government, was brought for re-registration with a claim that it was an abandoned Army vehicle. The details of the incident were recently shared on the MVD’s official Facebook page.

The case surfaced when a Royal Enfield motorcycle bearing the number HP-47-A-4670 was presented at the Punalur Sub-Regional Transport Office. During inspection, Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector Simod V.S. noticed irregularities in the chassis number and checked it through the Parivahan database.

According to officials, the verification showed that the motorcycle was originally registered in the Thiruvananthapuram RTO as KL-01-AV-4409 and belonged to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). It had been scrapped a few years ago and its registration officially cancelled. As per state policy, government vehicles are scrapped after 15 years and are not allowed to be registered again.

MVD officials questioned the person who brought the bike for re-registration. He told them that he had bought it from a used-vehicle dealer in Malappuram, who had sourced it from Haryana. Officials said the current owner appeared unaware of the fraud.

What puzzled the department was the discovery that the scrapped Kerala government bike had been shown as an ex-Army auction vehicle and registered in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. Parivahan records indicated that it was allegedly purchased from the Army on July 22, 2025, and re-registered just two days later using forged documents.

Officers suspect that the original buyer, who was supposed to scrap the vehicle, may have instead sold it to dealers in other states. Those dealers may have created fake papers to register it in Himachal Pradesh.

The MVD has handed over the motorcycle to the police for a detailed investigation. Punalur police are expected to register a case and begin further inquiry.