Thrissur, 08 July (H.S.):A Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI) in Kerala has been booked under non-bailable provisions after imposing a traffic penalty on a police patrol vehicle, triggering a confrontation between the Motor Vehicles Department and the police.

The case has been registered against P.V. Biju, Enforcement Inspector of the Motor Vehicles Department in Thrissur. The action comes days after he fined a police jeep attached to the Wadakkanchery Police Station for alleged violations related to vehicle documents.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the inspector has been accused of obstructing police officers in the discharge of their official duties and attempting to tarnish the image of the police by circulating details of the inspection and penalty on social media.

Police officials said a team visited Biju's residence to arrest him, but he was not present. Wadakkanchery Station House Officer V.S. Muralidharan said the case has been registered under non-bailable sections and that efforts are underway to arrest the inspector.

The controversy began on Monday night when the MVI intercepted the police patrol jeep during a routine inspection at Wadakkanchery. Based on information available on the online vehicle database, the inspector found that the vehicle's insurance and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate had allegedly expired and initially imposed a fine of ₹4,000.

Although Sub-Inspector Badaruddeen informed the inspector that the vehicle had valid insurance coverage, the relevant documents could not be produced during the inspection. The MVI reportedly assured the police that the insurance-related penalty would be withdrawn if valid documents were produced later.

On Tuesday morning, the insurance certificate was forwarded to the inspector through WhatsApp. However, the PUC certificate had expired on June 20. After verifying the documents, the inspector revised the penalty and imposed a fine of ₹500 for failing to carry the insurance documents during the inspection and for operating the vehicle without a valid PUC certificate.

The unusual sequence of events has sparked widespread attention, raising questions over the circumstances that led to criminal proceedings against the transport enforcement officer after he penalised a police vehicle.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman