Sangrur RTA office under lens over ‘fraud’

Parvesh Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Sangrur, October 19

The functioning of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) office here has come under the scanner as following questioning of senior officials, a special task force (STF) from New Delhi has summoned two employees of a private firm posted there in connection with a fraud case registered in South-East Delhi. The FIR pertains to registration of stolen luxury vehicles on forged documents.

The police have registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 471 (use as genuine forged document), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC after getting information that a lifters’ gang had sold stolen luxury vehicles in various parts of Delhi after getting these registered by changing their engine numbers. Since two vehicles were found to be registered at the Sangrur RTA office, its working has come under the scanner.

“We have decided to take up the matter with the higher authorities for a CBI inquiry as we suspect many vehicles have been registered at the Sangrur RTA office using forged documents,” said advocate Dasvir Singh Dalee, who wrote to the Transport Minister on Monday.

Sources say for getting a vehicle registered, one has to approach the employees of a private company, hired by the Punjab Government due to shortage of staff.

“The private company employees are responsible for checking online bills of vehicles, however, they are not doing their job properly. The staffers deliberately helped gang members in getting stolen vehicles registered,” alleged Karnvir Singh Chhina, secretary, Sangrur RTA.

He said senior officials at the office were questioned by the STF on October 6 over the registration of stolen vehicles.

“We appeared before the STF. It has now summoned two employees of the private company, who were terminated for their involvement in the scam on October 9, besides two others. We have done nothing wrong and are open to inquiry. The private company’s employees are, however, evading the STF signalling their role in the wrongdoing,” Chhina said.