Team Mangalorean - Kasaragod
from Fayaz Bovikan

Kasaragod: Fancy, distinct or desired vehicle registration number-plates, by whatever adjectives they are described - they are a matter of prestige and cause of envy for a large section of people, irrespective of place, state or religion.

Sensing the high demand for fancy numbers, many Indian states sell these numbers by auction. Kerala is not an exception.

During an auction procedure held by the mobile transport office of the civil station at Vidyanagar here on Monday, July 9, a physical scuffle broke out between two young men. They both were after a much-coveted registration number - KL 14 M 1000.

As the bid was going around Rs 50,000, the two men got into an argument and soon into a fist-fight. The officials could not continue the auction in the confusion that followed. When their efforts to pacify them failed, they called off the auction process and informed the police.

When the police arrived, the duo vanished, with bid money safe in their pockets, but without the desired number.