Bhubaneswar: In a bizarre case of alleged automated traffic system failure, a resident of Odisha’s Bhadrak has been slapped with Rs 5,000 e-challan for a traffic violation he couldn’t possibly have committed.
According to sources, Kshitish Samanta Behera, a resident of Aradi Chhak in Bhadrak, was shock
ed to receive an SMS notification on Tuesday evening from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Nayagarh. The notice accused him of riding a two-wheeler while talking on a mobile phone. The e-challan features clear photographic evidence of a young man riding a bike while talking on his phone. However, the system somehow linked the offence to Behera’s vehicle registration number (OD02CA1742), which is a four-wheeler (car), not a motorcycle.
The vehicle owner claimed that his car was parked inside his garage in Bhadrak at the exact time of the alleged violation, providing CCTV evidence. “I received the challan around 6.30 pm. Following which, I contacted the Bhadrak RTO and they confirmed that the challan was issued today itself. But surprisingly, it was issued against my car while the challan featured a young man riding a bike while talking on his phone,” he told the media.
The Bhadrak RTO assured to resolve the issue, the sources added.