2 RTO agents held in police clearance certification scam

The two agents were identified as Jaiprakash Gupta and Pradeep Gupta. “They told us that they helped the auto drivers get the certificates by charging them ₹10,000. The certificates are meant to ascertain that these drivers do not have a criminal record

MUMBAI: Two RTO agents have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a police clearance certification scam on Wednesday. The incident was disclosed when a Santacruz East resident received 11 police verification letters in two months and reported them to the Nirmal Nagar police.

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The complainant, Manoj Khandare, said he had received eleven police clearance certificates, all under different names, between May 10 and July 1. The letters written by the special branch of Mumbai police were all addressed to autorickshaw drivers, who were using Khandare’s address in their documentation.

The two agents were identified as Jaiprakash Gupta and Pradeep Gupta. “They told us that they helped the auto drivers get the certificates by charging them ₹10,000. The certificates are meant to ascertain that these drivers do not have a criminal record,” said a police officer.

The eleven autorickshaw drivers whose letters were sent to Khandare were residents of Bhayander, Mira Road, and Mumbra. They got acquainted with the two agents in January this year, said the police. “The drivers wanted their help in getting the necessary permissions to ply auto rickshaws within city limits. While the application for the certificate can be made online, the local police station needs to visit the applicant’s house,” said the officer.

The agents helped the drivers but used fake documents, including address proof in the process, the police said. “As the letters were dispatched, it means that the physical visits were also faked, which makes us believe that there would be some cops or other people involved in this scam,” said the officer.

During the investigation, the police found fake registration papers of the flat owned by Khandare were used in the scam. “We are afraid that such practices and such agents may have knowingly or unwittingly helped antisocial elements on the run from the law or even people of foreign origin to acquire an Indian identity through documents like driving license,” said an officer.

The two agents and the eleven auto drivers have been booked under sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery and forgery of electronic documents) of the Indian Penal Code.

Further investigations are ongoing to understand how long the agents have been running the scam and how many fake documents have they helped people procure.