A mind-boggling bid of Rs 1.12 crore has been received online for a fancy registration number (HP 99-9999) for a scooty by the Registering and Licensing Authority Kotkhai.

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.

So far, the highest bid is of Rs 1,12,15,500, received online, the officials said.

The bidding would freeze on Friday.

The credentials of the bidder are yet to be known and in case he does not deposit the money the number would go to the second bidder.

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

"We are also contemplating adding a clause to deposit 30 per cent bid amount at time of bidding which will be forfeited in case the whole amount is not deposited to end such practices," he added.

A scooty costs between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1,80,000. It is successful in few parts of the state with hilly topography.

The sale of scooties have gone up by 30-40 per cent, as compared to post Covid period in the hilly areas like Shimla, said Lovnesh, owner of Lovnesh Motors in Shimla.

Post Covid, people preferred to use their own vehicle as public transport was not available or was restricted during the Covid period, Lovnesh added.

"We have sold around 30-40 scooties in the past four months as compared to 1-5 in the same period in the previous years," said Kartik Sharma owner of Yamaha showroom in Shimla.

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