Rathore pays Rs 9.05 lakh for fancy number plate

Rathore has paid the highest amount of Rs 9,05,001 for the fancy number 'CH 01 AM 0001' for his new Mercedes which he gifted to his wife, Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) officials said here today.

At the RLA auction held here yesterday for the new series CH 01 AM, the highest bidder turned out to be none other than Rathore.

Rathore took the bidding to a new level by adding one rupee to each of his bids in order to outdo others.

"My wife is number one and so is the Rs one that I suffixed to the bids," Rathore said.
There were 18 applications for the number 0001 in the new series, officials said adding that in the auction held in January CH 01 AL 0001 had fetched Rs 5.8 lakh.

Rathore said that he had paid the advance amount for 15 numbers. Determined to take the fancy number for the woman who stood by him in tough times, Rathore increased the bid amount by Rs one for four consecutive times before clinching the number, officials said.

The former Haryana top cop, who was convicted of molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990, had served in jail from May to November 2010. He was released on bail by the Supreme Court on November 11, 2010. However, he was asked not to leave India and the case is still pending in the Apex court.