Taking note of three bids of more than Rs 1 crore for a fancy registration number for a two-wheeler, Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said an FIR would be registered against the three "non-serious" bidders.

The Registering and Licensing Authority of Kotkhai on February 16 received three bids of more than Rs 1 crore for the fancy registration number HP 99-9999.

"The online auction portal has been suspended and the department has been asked to register FIR against the bidders so that they face the consequences," said Agnihotri, who is also in charge of the transport department.

He also said that necessary rectifications would be made in the portal, such as depositing the earnest money while making the bid to eliminate non-serious bidders.

The Transport Department had launched a new number series and invited online bids for fancy numbers. Three persons made bids of more than Rs 1 crore for such numbers which baffled the department.

It was later found that the bidders tried to play with the system.

However, the officials have not ruled out the pressure tactics of the bidder to oust the competitors and said that there is a need for the imposition of penalty in case the bidding money is not deposited.

The reserve price for the bid was Rs 1,000 and as many as 26 participants had bid for the number, officials of the transport department said.

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