Mumbai, Apr 16 (PTI) The Mumbai police have arrested a 57-year-old man from Bengaluru for allegedly cheating vehicle owners under the pretext of registration of high security registration plate (HSRP) by creating a fake website, an official said on Wednesday.

Vinod Vyankat Bawale was arrested by a team of the South Region Cyber police station in connection with the case, which was registered last month, the official said.

Police launched a probe after the transport department lodged a complaint against unidentified cyber fraudsters, saying there were six fake links for the registration of the HSRP.

During the probe, it came to light that Bawale had made a fake website, created the links and circulated them on various online platforms, the official said.

He used to charge more money than the government of Maharashtra and cheated vehicle owners as well as the government, he said.

After ascertaining his role in the crime, a police team from Mumbai went to Bengaluru and arrested Bawale. A search is underway for a few more persons in connection with the case, the official said.

As per the orders of the Supreme Court, HSRPs are mandatory to avoid vehicle-related crimes in the interest of national security.

Accordingly, the Maharashtra government has decided to replace the number plates of the vehicles registered with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) before April 1, 2019, and the work of replacing the number plates has begun in the state.

The RTO has provided a link on the transport department website to help vehicle owners register themselves for HSRP, the official said, adding that three vendors – Rosmerta Safety System Limited, Real Mazon India Limited, and FTA HSRP Solutions Limited – have been selected for the work.

Rosmerta and Real Mazon had alerted the RTO about fraudulent links concerning HSRPs, he said.

The fake links were used to cheat vehicle owners by collecting money from them under the pretext of replacing their vehicle number plates with HSRPs, the official said.

The case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act, the official said, adding that a probe is underway. PTI DC NR