A routine call to remove an abandoned vehicle in Bengaluru’s Viveknagar led to a puzzling discovery: two Maruti Eeco minivans bearing the same registration number, KA-01-MM-5544, had been operating in the city for years.

The incident unfolded when Head Constable Shivaraju MK, responding to a complaint, found the abandoned Eeco and contacted the registered owner. The owner claimed his vehicle was parked at his residence in Wilson Garden. Suspicious, Shivaraju towed the abandoned Eeco to Ashoknagar traffic police station and requested the owner to bring his vehicle in.

Both vehicles bore identical licence plates, but verification of engine and chassis numbers confirmed the registration belonged to the Wilson Garden resident’s Eeco. Authorities are now investigating the abandoned vehicle using its engine and chassis numbers to trace its origins.

This isn’t an isolated case; a similar issue involving two Tata Indica cabs with identical plates remains unresolved, as the duplicate vehicle evaded capture.