The Koramangala police have arrested two people for allegedly forging autorickshaw permits, complete with the seal and signatures of officials from the Regional Transport Office. The accused Iliyas Sardar Pasha, 31, a resident of Chamarajpet, and K. Anand, 28, who lives in Shiva Reddy Layout in Electronics City, sold at least six fake permits to unsuspecting auto drivers.
Pasha was an agent in the Koramangala RTO and Anand rans a photocopying business in the same area. “The two decided to use their expertise in their respective fields to forge permits. They introduced themselves as RTO staff and sold each permit to unsuspecting drivers for as much as ₹40,000,” said a police officer.
The victims did not realise that they were plying their trade with fake permits. The police suspect that the duo have been perpetrating this scam for at least six months.
“Investigations are on to ascertain whether the accused sold more than six fake permits,” the police officer said.
The racket came to light when one auto driver was stopped by transport department officials. When they checked his documents, they noticed that the permit had been signed by an officer who had been transferred from the RTO in Koramangala a while back. They confiscated the permit. After a detailed probe, they realised that it was fake.
RTO officials filed a complaint with the Koramangala police in the first week of December.
