4 Mysuru RTO staffers held over fake papers for stolen 2-wheelers

Four employees of Mysuru regional transport office (RTO) were arrested for allegedly creating fake documents for stolen two-wheelers in the district, police said on Wednesday.

Police have also arrested a local broker in connection with the case, officials said.

The accused identified as Vasant Kumar, Sasikumar Gowda, Jagadish Raikar and Pradeep Naika were working as second division assistants (SDA) working in the RTO, according to the officials familiar with the matter.

Davanagere district superintendent of police K Arun said from past six months, the accused had been involved in creating fake documents for stolen bikes without the knowledge of the owners whose vehicles were stolen.

The case came to the fore after police started investigating the case of a stolen two-wheeler under Honnali police station limits of Davanagere district, said one of the officials quoted above.

“A bike owner who had lost his vehicle on July 20 at Honnali had registered a police complaint on the same day. During the investigation, it came to the fore that the fake registration of the two-wheeler was done at the RTO office. Later, when the police of Cyber Station investigated further and questioned the staff of the RTO, it was found that RTO broker Mohammed Rasool had signed as the owner of the two wheeler,” said the official.

Similarly, 10 such cases were registered in Basavanagar police station.

“The incident came to light when the police launched an investigation in connection with the 10 two wheelers stolen under two police station limits recently,’’ DSP said.

The DSP said that during investigation, when the police went to probe the owner of one of the recovered two wheelers, it was found that fake documents were created.

“When the Honnali police investigated another similar case, it was again found that a fake document was created in the name of someone else. A case has been registered in this regard at Basavanagar police station. Further investigation into the matter revealed the involvement of the four RTO staff and the broker,” the DSP added.

Later, the four RTO staff members and the broker were arrested, he said. A case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code Sections 468 (committing forgery), 420 (cheating and dishonesty) against the accused, said police.