Police in Kerala fine electric scooter owner for 'No PUC', cops claim it was typo

Malappuram (Kerala): An act of imposing fine on an electric scooter owner for not producing pollution under control (PUC) certificate has put a Kerala police team in trouble as they are being subjected to trolls on social media.

Police claimed it was a typo while issuing a traffic offence ticket of Rs 250 by a police crew in Malappuram district that had made them land in a soup.

The incident occurred when the crew intercepted vehicles and booked traffic offenders in Neelanchery under the Karuvarakundu police station last week.

A police officer said the person who rode the electric scooter failed to produce his driving licence.

“He neither had a printed document or soft copy of his licence. However, while issuing the ticket, the officer typed a wrong offence number in the machine and a PUC offence ticket came out,” he said.

On the need for a driving licence for electric scooters, he said it is required for those two-wheelers having a registration number.

The penalty of not having a driving licence is huge, he added.

However, it is surprising that the police officer who had collected the amount did not notice the error committed by himself or another officer, who booked a vehicle for a serious offence like riding without a driving licence and let the offender go by paying for the least violation of no PUC certificate.

Police sources said officials often fine the offenders for a reduced penalty in response to pleading by the commuters.