- Delhi Traffic Police now uses OTP to verify mobile numbers.
- This prevents offenders from giving fake numbers for challans.
- OTP verification ensures fines reach correct individuals directly.
Giving a wrong mobile number to dodge a traffic challan in Delhi may no longer work. The Delhi Traffic Police have introduced an OTP-based verification system for on-the-spot challans, aimed at ensuring that fines actually reach the right person.
The move comes after junk mobile numbers in the challan database became a growing problem for the department, not just causing enforcement gaps but also triggering unnecessary anxiety among people who received challans meant for someone else entirely.
How The OTP-Based Challan System Works
The new process targets a very specific loophole. When traffic personnel stop a driver for violations like red-light jumping or speeding, they typically ask for a driver’s licence. The problem is that many people have not linked their licences to their current mobile number. Some offenders take advantage of this by deliberately providing a wrong number, ensuring they never receive challan notifications.
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Under the updated system, the traffic officer will ask for the driver’s current mobile number and immediately verify it through an OTP sent on the spot. As a senior officer explained, “If the person gives the wrong number, the OTP will not be received.”
Once verified, the challan is issued, and the confirmed number is also updated on the government’s VAHAN portal, making the record more accurate for future use.
What Changes And What Stays the Same
The Delhi Traffic Police handles more than 30 lakh vehicles daily with a force of around 7,000 personnel, 80 per cent of whom are deployed on the field. The department receives roughly 60,000 challan-related updates every day, while traffic personnel issue nearly 20,000 challans daily.
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However, this OTP system applies only to on-the-spot challans. As an officer noted: “Challans issued through ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology will continue to be sent to the mobile number linked with the vehicle’s registration number.”
ANPR uses optical character recognition to read number plates from camera footage, enabling automated enforcement for offences including speeding, red-light jumping, and not wearing a helmet, around the clock.
