GURGAON: Traffic police on Monday issued a challan of Rs 15,000 to a car, which was part of rapper Badshah's convoy, for driving on the wrong side of Sohna road on its way to a concert nearby.
DCP (traffic) Virender Vij said on Monday that Badshah was in one of the three vehicles in the convoy, but it was not clear if he was driving. Similar penalties will be issued against the other two cars, he said.
Police said action was taken after social media users shared videos of the convoy going against traffic and creating a jam there.
The rapper was going to Airia Mall in Sector 68 to attend and perform at singer Karan Aujla's concert on Sunday evening.
Badshah's entourage was travelling in a Thar, a Scorpio and a Mercedes.
A senior police officer said only the Thar had a registration number. Registered in the name of Panipat resident Dipender Hooda, it was fined for wrong-side driving and dangerous driving.
The other two cars had temporary number plates. Cops are scanning CCTV footage from Sohna Road to get more details about the cars and traffic jam.
TOI had reported earlier this month that 1.46 lakh challans were issued for wrong-side driving by Gurgaon Police from Jan to Nov this year. This figure was almost five times higher than the last year, and the highest ever recorded for the offence in the city.
Before this, the most fines for wrong-side driving were issued in 2019 -- 49,761. In 2022, cops imposed 40,315 challans, and in 2023, it was 31,870. Between Jan and Nov, Rs 10.28 crore was collected as penalty amount from commuters caught driving in the wrong direction.
Police say wrong-side driving is one of the major causes of fatal accidents in the city, where – on average – 400 people lose their lives in road crashes.