Couple From Jaipur Drives SUV Over Sand Dunes in Ladakh, Fined Rs 50,000

A picture of the Fortuner being driven on the dune had gone viral online.

Leh Police posted this picture on their Facebook account with details of the incident.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A couple from Jaipur was fined Rs 50,000 after images of their car being driven on top of a dune in Jammu and Kashmir's Leh were widely circulated on social media, eliciting outrage.

"One tourist vehicle was found violating the SDM [sub-divisional magistrate] Nubra's direction not to drive cars over dunes in Hunder. The couple from Jaipur were booked as per law and a bond of ₹ 50,000 was taken from them," Leh Police wrote in the caption of their Facebook post on Thursday, 9 June.

“District police Leh requests tourists NOT TO PLY VEHICLES ON SAND DUNES as you damage the natural landscape and violate the prohibitory orders.”

Leh Police

The number plate of the car bears the code from Delhi but according to the Leh Police post, the couple was from Jaipur.

Social media was quick to react the photos, with many displaying their displeasure and asking for more punishment,” People have lost civic sense,” one user commented.

In April, a video of an Audi Q3 SUV belonging to Haryana being driven inside the Pangong Lake, had gone viral receiving similar backlash. The video proudly showed a foldable table chair with bottles of alcohol and plastic packets splattered on it.