Noida woman fined for driving car without wearing helmet

In a bizzare incident, a woman from Greater Noida has been fined for driving her car without wearing a helmet. Shailja Chaudhary, a teacher at a government school and the vehicle owner, received an e-challan of ₹1,000 from Guatam Budh Nagar traffic police for driving without a helmet in Noida's Hoshiyarpur locality on June 27. Interestingly, she has no two-wheeler registered in her name.

The message that Chaudhary received from traffic police for e-challan mentioned the registration number of her car but a photo of a bike was attached. The message mentioned that she had been fined for driving without a helmet. "I received a message from the Traffic Police on my mobile phone. Initially, I thought that a relative who had visited my home might have violated traffic rules while driving my car. However, when I opened the message, I was shocked to see a photo of a bike attached to the challan and my car’s registration number mentioned for driving without a helmet at 8.29 am on June 27," she told Hindustan Times.

She added that she wasn't driving at the mentioned time and date in Hoshiyarpur. “I do not own any two-wheeler as I only have a Hyundai i20 registered in my name," she said. She asserted that this is clearly a mistake on behalf of the traffic police and they should cancel the challan issued against her name.

The challan also mentioned that the violator needs to visit the traffic control room office in Noida Sector 14A before the due date, or legal action will be taken against her. Chaudhary said that she is not willing to drive all the way to the police control room for an offense she did not commit.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner of police, Traffic, Preeti Yadav told HT that occasionally the integrated traffic management system (ITMS) may misread the registration number and such complaints can be made via email or by visiting the office directly.