A new scam has come up in Punjab related to transportation. The Vigilance Bureau arrested Motor Vehicle Inspector Naresh Kaler from Tana on Tuesday late at night. Brokers Radhe and Mohan Lal Kalu, close aid of Naresh Kaler have also been taken under custody.
The investigation of the Vigilance Bureau has revealed that a great level of scam was being carried out by Naresh Kaler as he was issuing fitness certificates to the vehicles without conducting any physical test and was taking bribes to do the same. Bribes of Rs. 12.50 lakhs have been recovered by the VB during the investigation.
THE SCAM
The Vigilance Bureau has revealed that MVI Naresh Kaler used to pass fitness certificates to about 150 vehicles a day. Reportedly, it takes around 18 to 20 minutes minimum to issue a fitness certificate after carrying out the physical test of the vehicle which means that only 24 vehicles can be passed in 8 hours but Naresh Kaler was passing around 150 vehicles in this period.
BRIBERY CODE FOLLOWED
The Vigilance inquiry revealed that the broker used to write the name of the vehicle on the files so that Naresh could understand that bribe related to this file has been received by his close aides. With this code on the file, Naresh Kaler would instantly approve without any test.
OFFICE IN HIS OWN HOUSE
Radhe, one of the brokers revealed that Naresh himself built a camp office inside his house. He used to take the files regarding the setting along with him. Radhe has been with Naresh for the last five years and used to get 15,000 per month as salary. Naresh Kaler used to earn a lot of money through the agents.
Mohan Lal Kallu revealed to the Vigilance Bureau that he was involved in this scam and that if any work was to be done in the RTA, he would get it done very easily.
This is not only going on in Jalandhar but also in Gurdaspur and Ludhiana.