A HOTEL owner in the Highlands has been reported to the police for allegedly driving at more than 100mph in his luxury sports car.
Property tycoon Ruchir Gupta, who runs the Kincraig Castle Hotel in Invergordon, smiled at the camera as he was filmed for his YouTube channel called Richie on Tour.
The Press and Journal video reports the clip has now been deleted as the 49-year-old millionaire can be seen flying into Scotland on board a private jet from Malaga, before taking to the Highland roads in a limited edition Bentley Continental Supersport.
The car, worth more than £200,000 when it launched in 2017, has a top speed of 209mph.
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Gupta told viewers: “It’s the fastest four-seater by top speed in the world,” before appearing to accelerate more than 40mph above the limit to overtake two cars 10 miles from Alness.
During the overtake, the speedometer can be seen in the 12 o’clock position, indicating a speed of 160kmph or 100mph.
Police report
The video left one Highland resident outraged, and he passed the video on to police to investigate.
“Speeding potentially puts the lives of other road users at risk,” the resident, who wished to be known only as John, told the Press & Journal.
“No one’s ego should let them feel it’s acceptable to turn Highland roads into their personal racetrack for the rich.
“I hope that Police Scotland and the community make it abundantly clear to Ruchir Gupta that the law applies to everyone without exception.”
However, in the days following the story, Gupta said the man who reported him had “illegally” obtained “private” footage and doctored it to make it look as though he were speeding.
Writing on his hotel’s Instagram account, he said: “It would be nice to finally meet ‘Lazy John’ so he can finally be encouraged to get a real job and improve the local economy by contributing to it, like we do.”
He then added: “The same John then apparently hacked into our Youtube account, forcing our editor to change his password, and illegally obtained some private footage from our Youtube account, which may or may not have been manipulated by him thereafter."
He continued: “One would imagine that Lazy John really needs to get off the social benefits and get a real job, rather than stalking local businessmen trying to add to the local economy. Why not use their hard work as inspiration, instead of envy."
The local in question said the suggestion of any hacking was “ridiculous” when they were again approached by the P&J.
Police Scotland confirmed the complaint had been “passed to local traffic officers for awareness/action”.
A spokesperson also said a probe was underway, commenting: “Around 7.20pm on Monday April 15, we received a report of concern regarding speeding in Easter Ross.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish if any offences have been committed.
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“Officers from the Road Policing Unit patrol these routes on a regular basis and if anyone has any information or concerns about driver behaviour, they should report this to Police Scotland on 101.”
The Press and Journal further reported that it contacted Gupta for comment while the video was still available online but that the video in question, titled “#123 The Highland Drivers Club & Miss Scotland,” was removed from the public domain and replaced with a message that read: “Video unavailable… this video is private.”
It has since uploaded a new video titled “#129 Castles and Cars” with the contentious scenes edited out.
On Sunday night, the new video appeared with a duration of six minutes and seven seconds – around one minute and 42 seconds shorter than the original footage.
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Gupta is still featured driving his blue limited edition Bentley Continental Supersport, but appears to be travelling within the speed limit.
Police personnel from the traffic offences unit based in Dingwall have been reviewing the potential evidence.
It is understood that police have yet to reach out to Gupta.
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