India News | Guj: RTO Official, Three Agents Detained for Issuing Driving Licences Illegally

Surat, Jan 22 (PTI) An official and three agents of the regional transport office in Gujarat's Surat have been detained for allegedly issuing driving licences illegally by tampering with computer data, police said on Saturday.

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The accused had allegedly conspired to get 10 driving licences issued last year without registering the applicants or their vehicles, a cybercrime official said.

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"The accused gained access to the Surat RTO computer system to push data on the Sarathi Parivahan website about some candidates passing the automated driving track test without them actually taking such the test,'' the official said.

A case was registered by the Surat cybercrime police under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, he said.

During the probe, the police zeroed in on assistant motor vehicle inspector Nilesh Mevada and RTO agents Sahil Wadhwania, Indrasinh Dodia and Jash Panchal, all of whom have been detained, the official said.

Mewada tested positive for COVID-19 and has been placed under quarantine in police custody, it was stated.

Surat police commissioner Ajay Tomar told reporters that an investigation will also be carried out against 10 individuals in whose names the driving licences were issued to find out if they were involved in the case.

The state government issued a statement in this regard stating that it has taken various measures to provide easy and fast service to the applicants in a transparent manner.

"The transport department has adopted a policy of simplification of services and disciplinary action against the applicants as well as the administration for obstructing and tampering with the system," it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)