It’s seems the Tirur Police are on a warpath, locked in their crosshairs are modified cars. Now whether the crackdown is only on cosmetic modifications or mechanical modifications as well, is still unclear. But earlier this month a Modified Maruti Suzuki Baleno that was modified to look like a Mercedes GLA was hauled in by the police forces in Tirur and now Police have hauled in another blighter who had modified his Mitsubishi Lancer. The police claim that the car has been made to look like a Ferrari according to a report in Manorama. Although in our opinion the Ferrari tag might a little bit of an oversight, that is, if calling a rabbit a horse can be called an oversight. From what we can tell the Lancer was modified to look like a Lancer Evolution. Mitsubishi’s thoroughbred rally machine.
Either ways the car which was from Thazhepalam district in Tirur. And its owner identified as one Rashid from Kodakkallu in Thirunavaya. As of now the owner has been given 15 days to return to vehicle to its original condition in 15 days or pay a steep penalty. Which is easier said than done considering that the Mitsubishi Lancer has been long since on sale in India, after which HM who was selling Mitsubishi in India closed shop.
The story gets interesting as Manorama reports that the authorities estimated the cost of converting the Mitsubishi Lancer to a “Ferrari” was north of 4 lakh. Although that might be far from the truth. What’s even more interesting is that the Police have said that they are suspecting “gangs” are converting the cheaper cars to more expensive models and then selling them to unsuspecting and likely blind customers. Because all it takes is to pop the hood to figure out what the donor car really is.
However based on this the Police has intensified the search for offenders with similarly modified cars, sold to unsuspecting buyers and eventually these gangs. However we think that this could really be no more than a case of young rural auto enthusiasts modifying their cars to up their street cred as is usually the case.
Source: Manorama Online
