A Highland hotel owner has been reported to the police for allegedly driving at more than 100mph in his luxury Bentley sports car near Alness.
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.
In a now-deleted video, the 49-year-old millionaire jet-setter can be seen flying into Scotland onboard a private jet from Malaga, before taking to 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 and can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 3.4 seconds.
“It’s the fastest four-seater by top speed in the world,” Mr Gupta tells viewers, 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.
WATCH – the contentious video:
It has outraged a concerned Highland resident, who has passed the video on to police to investigate.
The resident, who only wants to be known as John, said: “Speeding potentially puts the lives of other road users at risk.
“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.”
Police Scotland confirmed that John’s complaint had been “passed to local traffic officers for awareness/action”.
A spokeswoman also told The Press and Journal that a probe was underway.
She said: “Around 7.20pm on Monday 15 April 2024, we received a report of concern regarding speeding in Easter Ross.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish if any offences have been committed.
“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 contacted Mr Gupta for comment and spoke with him over the phone while the video in question – first published on March 25 this year – was still available online.
In the minutes after our call, the seven-minute and 49-second-long video – 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”.
However, a copy of the video that was archived earlier by the complainant John has been provided to police investigators anyway.
The Richie on Tour YouTube channel has since uploaded a new video, titled “#129 Castles and Cars” with the contentious scenes edited out.
On Sunday night, the new video with a duration of six minutes and seven seconds appeared online, one minute and 42 seconds shorter than the original footage.
Mr Gupta, who is a member of the Highland Drivers Club, is still featured driving his blue limited edition Bentley Continental Supersport, but now appears to travel within the speed limit.
Today, police personnel from the traffic offences unit based in Dingwall have been reviewing the potential evidence.
Mr Gupta declined to comment on the video.
