Fake RC case accused earlier booked by VB for bogus vehicle fitness certificates

Avneet Kaur

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Jalandhar, March 20

Arvind Kumar, a Class XII pass person, who was apprehended on Tuesday by the city police as a key suspect in a case concerning the production of counterfeit driving licences and registration certificates (RCs), was previously detained by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) in October 2022.

He was apprehended following VB’s revelation of an orchestrated corruption net involving the issuance and receipt of fitness certificates for both commercial and private vehicles, without thorough inspection. The operation was allegedly being run by the Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI), at the time Naresh Kaler, in collusion with private agents.

Arvind was among the 10 private agents booked by the bureau then under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC, at the VB police station in Jalandhar. The trial for this case was still going on, but Arvind was granted bail within a month or two, said police officials.

However, it’s shocking that despite once being booked by the VB, he continued to operate his illegal business of producing fake RCs, licences, and other documents right under the nose of the police for the past two years.

As per information, Arvind has long been working as a private agent, at his office located in Transport Nagar. With the help of RTA and Transport office employees, he ran this illicit operation. The police received a tip-off about a gang involved in producing counterfeit driving licences and registration certificates, leading them to Arvind. Upon investigation, they recovered insurance certificates for 159 vehicles (without QR codes), certificates for 222 vehicles (with QR codes), transfer files for 57 RCs, 35 registration certificates, and 180 application forms accompanying documents from his possession.

When contacted, ACP North Daman Veer Singh, said that the investigation into the case was in progress. He said numerous documents had been recovered indicating the involvement of several individuals, including some RTA office employees and officials.

He said due to the ongoing interrogation of the accused, further information couldn’t be disclosed at the time. When questioned about Arvind’s tenure in the business and specifics regarding his properties or profits, ACP said these aspects were still under investigation. He said Arvind didn’t have a fixed fee structure. Rather his charges were based on the face value and other factors, the ACP said. For instance, those deemed less educated were charged higher amounts, typically ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000, while individuals, who had knowledgeable about government fee, were charged less, the ACP said.