Uncanny methods of Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs) are not a hidden fact neither the agony of those who bump into one of the most powerful yet unbridled officials of the Transport department allegedly operating through henchmen as powerful as the MVI. If caught on wrong foot one either has to oblige them or follow the court’s route for relief.
One Akhilesh Kumar, driver of a truck, was fined Rs5500 by the RTO Jamshedpur. However, to the dismay of the driver MVI Ranchi Budhinath Choudhary issued seizure list but not before allegedly harassing through one of his trusted aides.
Kumar claimed that he was advised by one Rakesh to pay Rs4000 and get back papers however the driver refused to oblige and was issued seizure list instead on May 2. Interestingly, the poor driver has to visit court for about 30 days to get his papers back. In the meantime, Kumar filed a case of harassment against the MVI.
Nonetheless, the MVI in question rubbished the charges terming it flimsy and expressed inability in submitting the documents in time due to work overload. The MVI, besides five others, is also in-charge of three other districts. Notably, each district should have at least one MVI whereas there are just seven in the entire State.
“I did try to submit vehicle’s documents in the court but on every occasion official in court demanded a new document. Since I am in-charge of other districts as well so it is difficult to devote time entire time to one area and that is the reason for the delay,” said the MVI.
The case is not an isolated one as the dubious modus operandi of MVIs was also questioned by officiating Chief Secretary Sajal Chakraverty in the past. Soon after taking charge of Transport department Chakraverty had gone public about inducements supposedly offered by MVIs and had even vowed to mend their behaviour by bringing in changes in work culture. Talking to media Chakraverty had hinted that a bottle of liquor was placed at his table supposedly by the aide of an MVI.
However, MVIs continue to wield immense power to their and their trusted aide’s benefit. Goods vehicles transiting from an area cannot escape the wrath of the aides of MVIs who keep an eye on such vehicles to catch them on wrong foot and make them shell money for getting back vehicle documents.
“They (MVIs) never ask for bribe directly. There are group of people around an MVI which stops vehicles forcefully and take papers forcibly. It is the aide who is involved in bargaining for getting back papers,” said a vehicle owner seeking anonymity.
Ironically, there is no institutional mechanism to rein-in errant MVIs ruling the streets of Jharkhand. The department is overly dependent on complains whereas in most of the cases a vehicle owner manages things on his own to avoid getting entangled in legal battle.
“We cannot do anything unless we get written complaints,” maintained Transport Commissioner Manoj Kumar.
Meanwhile, the department is in the process of recruiting MVIs for all districts which is likely to curtail the powers that are often misused in a vast geography.