​Thrissur: What began as a routine late night vehicle inspection on a stretch near Uthralikavu in Wadakkanchery ended in an unusual face-off between two enforcement agencies, with a Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) inspector first penalising a police patrol vehicle and later finding himself booked by the very officers he had stopped.

The incident unfolded around 11 pm on Wednesday when Thrissur MVD Enforcement Inspector P.V. Biju intercepted a Mahindra Bolero of the Wadakkanchery police station that was on night patrol. The inspector issued a ₹4,000 challan, stating that the vehicle did not have a valid insurance policy or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate.

Police later maintained that the patrol vehicle was covered by a valid insurance policy and that only the PUC certificate was not immediately available. Under existing rules, the penalty could be reduced to ₹250 if the certificate was produced within a week. The matter, however, did not end with the traffic violation or arguments over the penalty.

The Wadakkanchery police went ahead and registered a case against Inspector Biju, accusing him of obstructing police personnel from discharging their official duties by stopping and blocking the patrol vehicle while it was on night duty.

The unusual confrontation between the MVD and the police is being probed by higher-ups.