Delhi Police have busted a gang allegedly involved in the manufacturing and selling of counterfeit airbags. The seized airbags were of top models of 16 vehicle brands — namely MG, BMW, Citroen, Nissan, Renault, Volkswagen, Mahindra, Toyota, Tata, Honda, Skoda, Hyundai, Suzuki, Ford, KIA, and Volvo, police said, adding that they have written to the manufacturers as part of their probe.
In a raid last week at two workshops near Mata Sundari Road in Central Delhi, Police seized 921 counterfeit airbags worth approximately Rs 1.8 crore and arrested three accused. Prima facie, police found that suspects were supplying the counterfeit products to local auto workshops.
“While in an authorised workshop, an original pair of airbags replacement may cost anywhere between 1.5 lahks to 2 lahks (USD 1500 to 2000), one can easily get these from a local workshop for about half the price. These airbags were sold mostly to such roadside unauthorised workshops from where they were available for Rs 30,000 to 50,000 (USD 300 to 550),” the official said.
“The men identified as Faizan (26), Mohammad Faraz (35) and Furkan (35). A total of 921 counterfeit airbags from top car manufacturing companies worth Rs. 1,84,20,000, along with raw materials were seized,” the official added.
Delhi Police has written to the Indian head offices of these car manufacturing giants, seeking information on whether any of the arrested persons or factories run by them were officially outsourced for manufacturing of these airbags.
“We want to authenticate if the arrested men had any authority to manufacture these airbags and also check them for quality,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) M Harsha Vardhan said adding that they are waiting for a response to further investigate the matter.
Of the seized airbags, 86 had a branding of Suzuki, 12 of MG, 13 of BMW, 22 of Citroen, 23 of Nissan, 27 of Renault, 17 of Volkswagen, 20 of Mahindra, 14 of Toyota, 32 of Tata, 39 of Honda, 57 of Skoda, 66 of Hundai, 12 of KIA, eight of Ford, and three of Volvo cars. Meanwhile, 15 airbags were without a logo and others were the raw material.
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system, designed to inflate exceptionally quickly and then deflate during a collision. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It is built to reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the vehicle’s interiors.
In 2022, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the Indian Government has made it mandatory to have 6 airbags rule for passenger cars. The rule was reportedly set to come into force in October 2023. However, in September 2023, the minister retracted the six airbags statement and said the government would not make it mandatory.
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