Levying of 249 challans worth ₹3.69 lakh on a single vehicle by personnel attached to the Coimbatore City Police has exposed a potential large-scale irregularity in fining for traffic and motor vehicle violations.

The challans were found to have been slapped on the registration number TN37AF4170, which pertains to a scooter. The fines pending against the registration number checked by The Hindu on Parivahan portal showed that 249 challans were pending.

When some of the challans were opened, they contained registration numbers and photos of other vehicles, including motorcycles, trucks and cars, for wide ranges of traffic violations.

A pending challan worth ₹1,000 issued by Sub-Inspector S. Karuvelan of Race Course police station on May 17 this year contained the photo of the scooter with the same registration number (TN37AF4170). However, another pending challan of ₹1,000 slapped by Special Sub-Inspector V. Srinivasan of R.S. Puram police station on January 8 this year showed the image of a truck with another registration number as the vehicle involved in the violation. The challan also did not mention the registration number of the vehicle involved.

Another challan of ₹1,000 slapped on October 13, 2025 against the same registration number showed the photo of a truck as the vehicle involved in the violation. The photo of the vehicle in the challan was found to have been tampered so that its number plate was not clear.

Examination of random ones from the 249 pending challans showed that many of them containing photos of other vehicles were found to have been issued by the same police officers.

When enquired about the irregularities, City Police Commissioner N. Kannan said that he was not aware about it. He, however, assured to look into it.

The status of the registration number TN37AF4170, whether it is active or not, and its current owner were not known.