Recently, a fake helmet racket was busted from Cyberabad, Hyderabad. Upon proper investigation, it was revealed that the culprits were based out of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. This first-of-its-kind operation was aimed to bust the manufacturing companies which were selling fake ISI marked helmets.
The Cyberabad Traffic Police carried out this operation as they witnessed the influx of fake ISI marked helmets in the city of Hyderabad and after detailed scrutinization, the special team identified that the manufacturing units were located at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. These manufacturing units were producing the helmets using low-quality thermocol (Polystyrene), fibre and plastic materials which did not serve the actual purpose of wearing a helmet. The two arrested are identified as Dheeraj Kumar and Anil Kumar who sold the helmets under various brand names. A police report was released and it stated that a total of 10 FIRs were filed against the culprits.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued a notification in October 2020, declaring the ban on the manufacturing, usage and sale of non-ISI mark helmets for the two-wheeler riders. The notification also mentioned about the 2 month grace period which was given to clear the stock of the non-ISI marked helmets and for the public to buy ISI marked helmets and after that, even the first time offender will be penalized with either a jail time of 2 years or a fine of 2 lakh rupees.
This notification led these companies to start manufacturing fake ISI marked helmets which were offered a lower cost as compared to the genuine ISI marked helmets and hence the public fell for this trap. There have been numerous accident cases where these fake ISI marked helmets were worn by the riders and many of these accidents even led to fatalities. This raid was very important to send a message to the other fake ISI helmet manufacturers which are present all across the country, that the traffic police are very much aware of this racket and the culprits will be convicted with severe punishment for deceiving and risking the lives of the public.