Camouflaged Tata Sierra Stopped By J&K Police: Red Fort Blast Effect [Video]
The recent blast near the Red Fort Metro Station has sent shockwaves across the country. The security has now been tightened, and more personnel have been deployed to conduct detailed checks and patrols in various areas. News agencies and publications have been actively covering the blast and the security updates that followed. A video shared on the official X (previously Twitter) handle of Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) shows a camouflaged test mule of the upcoming Tata Sierra being stopped by security personnel on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for detailed inspection. With just days left for its market debut, the Sierra mule’s unexpected ‘reel time’ has attracted a lot of attention.
As the clip opens, we see a group of officials asking a heavily camouflaged test mule to pull over, on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway (NH44). Another look at it, and we understand that the mule is of the upcoming Tata Sierra. The officials in this case include armed and unarmed personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir police force. Some of them are seen wearing bulletproof vests.
The SUV driver obliges and brings the vehicle to a complete halt. The Sierra, in this case, carries heavy camouflage. Except for its (front and rear) windscreens and four window glasses, every other part is kept concealed. The police officials come closer and inspect the vehicle carefully.
One of them is even seen trying to peel parts of the camouflage, probably in an effort to verify the legitimacy of the situation. They walk around the vehicle, inspecting it in more detail. The driver soon comes out of the Sierra and is seen explaining to the cops.
It is common for manufacturers to conduct extensive high-altitude and winter testing on their new models before their actual market launch. Many carmakers including Indian giants like Tata Motors and Mahindra use the Himalayas and the tough, challenging landscapes of Ladakh as proving grounds for their upcoming models. Mule sightings are very common in these areas. NH44 is the highway that connects Ladakh to Leh and even the Kashmir valley. It now has strict security checks and patrols.
In sensitive situations like this, security personnel may exercise additional caution with camouflaged vehicles. Even in this case, the cops can be seen inspecting every nook and corner of it carefully before releasing it.
The vehicle in this case did not have a registration number and was running on Trade Certificate (TC) plates. This would only add to suspicion in sensitive times. Not all policemen would be well-versed with the high-altitude testing procedure, the various use cases of TC plates and even the actual purpose and legality of full-body camouflage. In this case, the cops aren’t too rough with the Sierra driver and listen to him as he explains his part.
Later in the video, we see them inspecting other vehicles. They check each nook and corner of them, including whatever luggage they were carrying then. Since the Sierra was a test mule, it would have had a lot of testing equipment and instruments inside, most of which would not be familiar to the cops here. This may have made the checks get more intense and time-consuming. The video doesn’t show when the Sierra was released.
Tata Motors will launch the all-new Sierra in India on November 25th. It will have both ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and EV forms, of which the former will be the first to arrive. The exterior design will vary significantly among these. The upcoming Sierra will come packed with features and offer a comfortable cabin experience. Tata seems to have packeged it well to compete with its biggest rival- Hyundai Creta, which also happens to be the leader in the mid-size SUV space.
The ICE version will have both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol engine, a newly developed 1.5L unit, will further be offered in both turbocharged and naturally aspirated forms. The diesel engine will be the Harrier-borrowed 2.0L turbocharged unit, in a lower state of tune. We will learn more about its specifications closer to the launch.