[Wheeliej]

Hi,

I have a strange problem. The events occurred sometime in 2008 & 2009. I received a call from a traffic policeman informing me that a scooter was lying in the hebbal traffic police station (under hebbal flyover) since 2003 and that it should be collected. I was flabbergasted since we didnt own any scooter so i asked for more info and my mother recalled a scooter with that registration no. had been sold by my brother many years ago. i pulled out the file containing the details.

The process that had been followed is that my mother had given the RC book to the buyer after collecting the payment and then after the transfer was recorded in the RC book, the scooter had been handed over to the buyer. The buyer had also changed the name on the insurance records, a copy of which was on the file

I was worried since i didnt want to be caught up in any accident case caused by the buyer.

i went across to the station and informed them accordingly. they asked for a copy of all the records. I said i was willing to do so, but would require a receipt for the same. Finally, they only took the transferrred RC book copy and said that the matter was closed.

After several months i again got a call asking me to come and collect the scooter. I made about 4-5 trips to the station to convince them that the scooter did not belong to me and that they were free to dispose it off as they wished and i didnt want to have anything to do with it. The police authorities repeatedly assured me that the vehicle was not involved in any accident, but that during a routine road-side check, the driver of the vehicle had abandoned the scooter and taken to his heels. They couldnt dispose off the vehicle and the RTO records still showed my brother to be the owner . They had checked in the address that had been provided by me and not found anyone by that name there (not surprising knowing the variable nature of bangalore residents in the last decade or so).

Finally, after much convincing, i agreed to collect the vehicle, arranged for a tempo and have brought it with me.

I think the right process for me now is to first cancel the registration in the RTO records and then proceed to scrap the vehicle. Is this right? How do I go about this without the original RC book?

I am now scared to sell any vehicle since RTO dont seem to be recording sales/purchases properly in their records and I dont want to get caught up in any drunk driving / hit-and-run case caused by others.

[GTO]

I'm not sure if you made the right decision by reclaiming possession of the Scooter. You are NOT the current owner, and also have the documentation to prove that. Just the fact that whoever was riding it abandoned the scooter and set alight on foot hints at something fishy. Don't scrap the vehicle. Again, it is NOT your property.

My suggestion : Go visit the Police Station again. Speak to a Senior Officer (someone who can make things happen) and explain the situation to him. Take a copy of the updated RC & insurance records. You sure will have some explaining to do, as to why you collected the vehicle. Tell him in no uncertain terms that you want nothing to do with the scooter. Back it up with written correspondence and go deposit it at the police yard again.

CC the RTO in all your correspondence.

[harit]

As GTO says, you should not have taken the scooter back.

But there is something more to add. many, when confronted with a problem which can involve police in some way, need not be criminal, many become nervous and make mistakes. And mistakes can be costly. Whenever confronted with a situation, whatever it is, do talk to a few friends, maybe even a lawyer friend, and a few guys should go together if called to a station or chokie. You automatically increase your brain power, and all may not become nervous in the presence of police.

I had a peculiar situation where I found gun cartridges on my car. Where they came from and when they were placed there completely beats me. I gave them to the building watchman and told him to throw them away. Fortunately the building secretary did not play ball, and told me to take care of the problem. That is when I contacted a friend and we brainstormed on what to do. You do not walk into a police station with cartridges, on the other hand looking at todays times you do not just throw them away either. Finally, three of us, my friend, his driver and me went to Police Headquarters at Crawford Market and met the assistant commissioner. We narated to him what has happened, in the meanwhile the driver was driving around waiting for us. As this was discovered near my residence, I had to go to the local police station. The PA came down, we called for the car, he had a look and off we went. Before reaching the police station we received a call, they were expecting us, and we were told whom to meet.
We finished in 30 minutes, they wrote a report, took the stuff and offered us tea. End of story.
There is no need to speculate what else could have happened, but the fact was that on an impulse I did take a wrong decision, consulted a friend and we came up with a better solution, and did not go alone. I have shared this story with many friends, and now here because there was a lesson for me.

Cheers harit