Man buys scooter for Rs 71,000, spends more than Rs 15 lakh on VIP license plate

Brij Mohan, who runs an advertising agency said that he bought this special number plate for a future vehicle he plans to buy around the Diwali this year. Until then however, the VIP license plate will sit on top of his Honda Activa Scooter. (Representative image)

Brij Mohan, a 42-year-old from Chandigarh became the talk of the town for for buying a VIP license plate worth Rs 15.4 lakh for his scooter worth Rs 71,000.

Mohan bid for the license plate number CH01 CJ 0001 at an auction held by Chandigarh Registering and Licensing Authority from April 14 to April 16. He now plans to use the license plate number on his Honda Activa scooter.

The auction was held for a new series CH01 CJ. It witnesses some very enthusiastic bidders who helped the Chandigarh registering and licensing authority collect Rs 1.5 crore. According to a Hindustan Times report, 378 registration numbers went under the hammer.

This follows Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's announcement  that the government would put certain ‘special' number plates out for auction to generate extra revenue for the state.

Mohan, who runs an advertising agency said that he bought this special number plate for a future vehicle he plans to buy around the Diwali this year. Until then however, the VIP license plate will sit on top of his Honda Activa Scooter. “I will use the number for my Activa, which I bought recently. But eventually, I will use it for car,” Mohan said.

Currently, 179 government vehicles use number plate that ends with 0001. Of which, four are owned by Khattar himself. The Chief Minister decided to give up the license plates and the bidding for the 0001 number plates began at Rs 5 lakh.

Among other license plate numbers, the second-highest bid was placed for the CH01 CJ 002 which was sold for Rs 5.4 lakh followed by CH01 CJ 007, which was sold for Rs 4.4 lakh.