Despite having found that since 2010, the Bhopal RTO has allotted new registration numbers to 16 vehicles on the basis of forged NOC or RTO documents from other States, no action has been taken against the officials concerned, who were involved in the process.
More than 2,500 vehicles from other States have obtained registration from Bhopal RTO since 2010 and 16 vehicles have been found to obtain registration number based on fake NOC of other RTO from other states.
The role of the employees in facilitating the registration number has to be determined and if they are found involved action would be taken against them and they would be made accused in the case said Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Shailendra Singh Chouhan.
He said that around 16 commercial vehicles have been recovered which have been stolen from other states and have obtained registration number from Bhopal RTO by producing fake NOC. The number would be around 40-45 and it might exceed in the investigation.
Serious negligence surfaced in the process as the NOC which is provided to the concerned RTO through courier or speed post were handed over to the RTO officials and were accepted without any authentication which suggests that agents, miscreants and the RTO officials are involved in the process.
Senior RTO officials have issued instructions to scrutinize the documents before providing any clearance and issuing any kind of documents from Bhopal RTO.
The network was unearthed after an inter-state vehicle lifter gang member was nabbed and more than a dozen vehicles were recovered during the investigation by the crime branch.
Regional Transport Offices in other states were asked regarding the NOC and it was found that the No Objection Certificates were forged and were not issued from their department.