Fake I-cards being used to avoid toll in Jhajjar, 500 seized in two months

Ravinder Saini

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Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, November 5

Commuters are using fake identity cards of the Haryana Police, Army and paramilitary forces, Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha and the Jaipur Police Commissionerate to get free passage through the Kurukshetra Express Company’s toll barrier located near Dighal village on the National Highway-71 here.

Company officials say over 3,500 vehicles cross the barrier everyday without paying fees by showing I-cards and around 70 per cent of the cards are fake. A number of commuters use forged I-cards having the addresses of villages located within the radius of 5 km that are exempted from toll, they add.

“Over 500 fake I-cards have been seized in the past two months while a large number of these could not be confiscated to avoid confrontation with vehicle owners,” says Nitesh Malik, Manager at Dighal toll plaza.

He says 200 fake I-cards have been handed over to the police while 300 others will be given tomorrow. The number of commuters using fake I-cards fell drastically when company officials with the help of the police adopted a tough stance against them last month, he adds.

“The illegal practice started again when we relaxed vigil during checking. We have again asked the police to act against these cheats. We have requested sarpanches and elderly people of nearby villages to educate villagers not to give their I-cards to outsiders to escape payment of toll,” says Malik.

He adds magnetic I-cards for toll exemption were issued to those residing within the 5 km radius of the toll plaza. “Over 4,300 such cards have so far been issued. Scores of commuters use various I-cards such as driving licence, Aadhaar, Voter-ID card etc having a local address for free passage instead of getting an I-card made from us,” Malik says.