LUCKNOW, Aug. 25 -- High-Security Registration Plates (HSRPs) are specifically designed to curb vehicle theft and aid the police in tracking stolen vehicles by providing tamper-proof, unique and electronically connected features like laser-etched serial numbers and holographic symbols. But the very purpose of these plates is being undermined by rampant retrofitment of counterfeit plates, often right under the nose of police and transport authorities in UP, people in the know of things said.

Though official data is lacking, it is widely believed that nearly half the vehicles on UP roads are fitted with such fake plates, rendering the system ineffective, resulting in very slow progress of retrofitment of authorised HSRPs in transport and n...