Odisha: Auto rickshaw driver challaned Rs 6,000 for not 'wearing helmet’

An auto driver was fined of Rs 6,000 for not wearing a helmet and 'violating' other rules in Odisha's Sonepur.

The Sonepur RTO recently imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on one Ram Banchhor, a resident of Nilabandhapara in Bargarh district, who owns an auto-rickshaw bearing registration number of OR-17H-5743.

The fine was also imposed on Ram for using a mobile phone while driving.

Surprisingly, Ram alleged he never went to Sonepur district and he only operates in Bargarh and uses his vehicle to transport goods within Bargarh district limits and never went to Sonepur district, reported local news channel.

“I came to know about this fine only after I went to Bargarh RTO to renew the fitness certificate of my auto-rickshaw. The officials said that I can’t renew unless I pay the fines first,” Ram said to Odia news channel, OTV.

“I never went to Sonepur, but still they penalized me for not wearing a helmet. Because of this, I am not being able to renew the fitness certificate of my vehicle,” he said to the news channel.

This is not the first instance in Odisha, but there have been other cases where drivers have alleged that they have been penalised unduly.

On December 7, a truck driver in Bargarh district was fined by the transport department for not wearing a helmet.

Not only in Odisha, but such incidents have been also reported from other parts of the country.

In a recent incident, an auto-rickshaw driver had to pay a fine for not wearing a seat belt while he was driving his vehicle.

In another incident, the owner of a private bus in New Delhi had claimed that he had been issued a fine of Rs 500 allegedly because the driver was 'not wearing a helmet'.

The online challan was made on September 11 and one of his employees checked it later. The owner said he would be contesting the penalty in court if needed.

The city-based transporter said his son looks after the transport business and they have about 40-50 buses, which are engaged with schools and private companies in Noida and Greater Noida.

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