MALAPPURAM: In a strange case, Kerala police have fined an electric scooter rider for not producing a valid ‘Pollution Under Control Certificate.’ (PUC) The officers at Karuvarakundu police station slapped the fine on electric vehicle owner Fasil K P, a native of Mampad, last Tuesday. Following the incident, the receipt of the fine has gone viral on social media and several people reacted to the blunder committed by the police. People even asked Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, to intervene to end such inconveniences being faced by people.
Fasil said it was not his intention to make the social media post viral. “I posted the receipt on a WhatsApp group. Some hours later, I deleted the post. However, before that, some people forwarded it to other WhatsApp groups and social media platforms. I did not do it purposefully to tarnish the police department,” he said. The police issued the receipt against an Ather 450X which is a fully electric scooter that contributes to zero air pollution.
The receipt mentions Section 213(5)(e) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 under which the driver has been fined Rs 250. However, the police said they did a favour to the rider which ended up in a controversy. “We caught him for not wearing a helmet. The fine for the violation is Rs 500. But he said he is not financially fit to pay the fine. So, we charged him Rs 250 under the charge of not having a ‘Pollution Under Control Certificate.’ Unfortunately, we did not notice the fact that it was an electric vehicle,” said a police officer.