After a Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Ghaziabad issued a driver’s licence in the name of a suspected terrorist, Mohd Fasih, senior agency officials have written to Lucknow, recommending action against two senior clerks and a regional inspector (technical) of the agency.
Fasih, in whose name the licence was issued, is currently in an Arab jail. The documents used to procure the licence — a voter’s ID card and school certificates — were found to be fake. And his photographs were taken from the internet.
The fake voter’s ID card had the residential address of a Raj Nagar’s Sector 7 house. A fake certificate of a public school from Kavi Nagar was used as a proof for date of birth. The documents and photograph were submitted along with the form at the RTO office on July 20. The licence was prepared in a day.
On August 9, the licence was cancelled after the incident came to light.
“When we came to know that a licence had been issued in a suspected terrorist’s name, we immediately informed the police and cancelled it. Upon verification, the voter’s ID and school certificates turned out to be fake. The photograph on the form was procured from the internet,” RTO VK Singh said.
In a routine procedure, the RTO staff match the photograph of the applicant in the office and capture his image with a webcam. They also verify the photocopied documents with their originals. “In this case, our officials relied on the original documents which were fake. We have also forwarded a police complaint regarding the matter to the Kavi Nagar police station,” Singh added.
{{/usCountry}}In a routine procedure, the RTO staff match the photograph of the applicant in the office and capture his image with a webcam. They also verify the photocopied documents with their originals. “In this case, our officials relied on the original documents which were fake. We have also forwarded a police complaint regarding the matter to the Kavi Nagar police station,” Singh added.
{{/usCountry}}Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Prashant Kumar said that the police will investigate the matter. Despite several calls, district magistrate (DM) Aparna Upadhyaya could not be contacted.
Earlier, a television channel’s sting operation had shed light on the matter.