AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Cars might not have been used in the Gujarat terror attacks had the state government implemented the scheme on mandatory fixing of high-security registration plates (HSRPs) in all vehicles along with a third non-removable licence sticker on windshields. Of the four cars used, two were blown up in Ahmedabad and the other two, carrying explosives, recovered from Surat.
Investigations show that all four vehicles, bearing fake number plates, were stolen from Navi Mumbai.
Though all states are supposed to implement the scheme on fixing of HSRPs through an open bid process, only Meghalaya has complied so far while Goa, Sikkim, Nagaland and Karnataka have reported good progress. Other states lag behind though the rule was notified in 2001. The Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board is finalizing the HSRP tender document, a task it was assigned in 2005.