Royal Challengers Bangalore

HIS IPL team — Royal Challengers Bangalore ( RCB) — may be winning matches on the trot, but UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya is a worried man.

For, last Sunday, miscreants vandalised his customised luxury car — Mercedes S600 — when he was busy watching Chris Gayle hitting sixers. Interestingly, he had parked his car in the heavilyguarded VVIP parking lot of the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium.

Worse, the miscreants even targeted his son Siddartha Mallya’s car — Mercedes S500 — which too was parked in the same stadium.

The miscreants used a sharp tool to scratch the gleaming body of both the cars from bumper to fender on either side.

According to sources, Mallya had purchased his gold coloured car from a Bangalore dealer two years ago. Now, the car is with the same dealer for repairs, which could run into lakhs of rupees.

“ Unlike other luxury cars, repainting a gold- coloured Mercedes is a tricky task.

Finding the right shade and ensuring that it goes well with the original colour is challenging. Besides, this car was personalised, and it makes all the more difficult,” a mechanic at Sundaram Motors, where the two cars have been sent for repairs, said.

Siddartha’s car is also under repair. As his car is black, the mechanics are not facing much problem in repairing it.

The vandalising of the two luxury cars has baffled the Bangalore police. “ Former cricketers Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath had parked their cars in the same lot. It looks like the handiwork of miscreants with a grouse against the Mallyas,” Cubbon Park police, said.

The police have questioned the security guards deployed in the parking lot for details. As no official complaint has been lodged, the police have directed the Karnataka State Cricket Association to beef up security during the IPL matches.

Vijay Mallya has a penchant for luxury cars. He has a collection of rare and exotic cars. His vintage collection includes Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, and Chevrolet.