Man poses as RTO official, arrested

Heavy security in the city post the July 13 blasts helped the Pant Nagar police arrest a 45-year-old man, who allegedly posed as a Regional Transport Office (RTO) official and fleeced several autorickshaw drivers.

Heavy security in the city post the July 13 blasts helped the Pant Nagar police arrest a 45-year-old man, who allegedly posed as a Regional Transport Office (RTO) official and fleeced several autorickshaw drivers.

HT Image

The police found fake RTO stamps, PAN cards and a blank cheque book from the accused, Rakesh Patel.

The incident took place on Monday night when Patel was on his way to his Ghatkopar residence. He was stopped during a police bandobast in the area.

“He was behaving in a very suspicious manner,” said an officer from Pant Nagar on condition of anonymity. “When we checked his bike, we found fake RTO stamps. Suspecting something amiss, we detained him for questioning,” the officer added.

On sustained interrogation, Patel confessed to the police that he would use the RTO stamps to dupe autorickshaw owners in the area.

“Patel would pretend to be an RTO agent and ask autorickshaw owners to renew their permits. He would take money from them and them give them bogus permits. The owners were not aware of the fraud,” the officer said.

When asked about the number of persons duped and the amount involved, assistant police inspector KM Kasar said, “We are still questioning the accused and do not know the stakes involved. We have, however, informed autorickshaw drivers in the area to find out if anyone was duped by Patel.”

S Shintre, deputy commissioner of police, zone 7, said they suspected that more people were involved in the scam.

“We are investigating the matter,” he said.