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Maha Oppn rakes fake driving licence 'scam' in Assembly; Speaker directs govt to act

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Mumbai, June 29 (IANS) The Opposition in Maharashtra on Saturday raised the alleged scam of Andheri Regional Transport Office issuing 76,000 dubious driving licences ostensibly without conducting proper driving tests on authorised vehicles in the state Assembly here.

Referring to the issue in detail, Congress’ Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar and state unit chief Nana F. Patole alleged a massive scam of Rs 125 crore in the Andheri RTO which issued the said driving licences (DLs).

After the submissions by Patole and Wadettiwar, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar directed the state government to take serious note of the matter and initiate appropriate action.

The matter came to light in the Maharashtra Accountant General Audit II during a test check of 1.04 lakh licences through the online data of SARATHI regarding the processing of applications for DLs after conducting the mandatory driving test of the applicants.

The random audit brought out some shocking details — of the 1.04 lakh licences scrutinised, 76,354 DLs, or nearly 75 per cent, were issued in 2023-2024 with suspect driving tests conducted on invalid vehicles.

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The matter was first highlighted by IANS (June 28, ‘Licence to kill? Mumbai RTO audit says 76K DLs issued on fake driving tests’), following a tip-off by social worker Binu Varghese, sparking a major debate in the social and political circles of the state.

Waddetiwar said it was shocking how thousands of DLs were issued on just two two-wheelers and two four-wheelers, pointing to an alleged scam as thousands of rupees are charged per licence by the department that is handled directly by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“The Andheri RTO issued 76,354 driving licences for cars, trucks, buses, and cranes on the basis of alleged tests taken on a two-wheeler…How is this possible,” Wadettiwar asked.

Meanwhile, Patole said the state Cabinet has not been expanded and ministers are handling multiple portfolios to which they cannot pay attention.

“It was shocking that this was going on in the department handled by the CM himself,” he said.

“The matter raised by the Leader of Opposition is grave and should not be discarded… If a person has tested only for a two-wheeler and is issued a DL for a crane or a bus, the matter is indeed serious. This will lead to accidents and deaths, all because of corruption,” Patole said.

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Wadettiwar claimed that for each DL, Rs 30,000-40,000 changed hands and there could be a scam of over Rs 125 crore in the Andheri RTO alone, while there are 53 more RTOs all over Maharashtra.

He pointed out that many accidents take place daily on the roads, citing the figures of 2022 when there were over 33,000 road accidents in the state that claimed more than 15,000 lives, while 54 per cent of all road crashes involved two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Wadeyyiwar also claimed that the government’s attitude seems to be clear – “You pay us money, and take your licence”, but nobody is bothered about the accidents on the roads and the loss of innocent lives.

The audit data showed details of how two two-wheelers and two cars were used repeatedly for conducting tests for different categories of vehicles, ranging from scooters to cranes, on which the 76,354 questionable DLs were issued.

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While 41,093 DLs were issued on tests conducted on the two-wheelers, another 35,261 DLs were cleared on tests conducted on the four-wheelers, ostensibly with probable murky dealings.

The auditors concluded: “The licences for LMV were issued but the driving tests were carried out on two-wheelers (motorcycles). DLs were issued for the motorcycle/scooter category but driving tests were carried out on LMVs. The DLs were issued for the three-wheeler category but driving tests were carried out on motorcars or two-wheelers.”

Pulling up the RTO, the auditors said that it was clear how, while processing the documents for conducting DL tests, neither the due procedures were followed nor the vehicle details were verified by the authorised RTO Inspectors.

“This creates doubts on whether the tests were conducted at all. The cases are only illustrative (only four vehicles test-checked by the audit) in nature and similar cases may be identified and intimated to audit,” the auditors noted in the report.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

–IANS

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MP CM to thank Centre for three new criminal laws in Assembly on Tuesday

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Bhopal, July 1 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will address the Assembly on Tuesday to thank the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the implementation of three new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nayay Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakhya Adhiniyam (ASA), which replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively, with effect from July 1.

Calling the three new laws a historic step, CM Yadav said India finally has its own laws to provide justice to its people, adding that July 1 will be remembered as a significant day for both the nation and the state.

“I will address the Assembly on the three new criminal laws on Tuesday and thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this historic step,” CM Yadav told mediapersons after the first day of the monsoon session of Madhya Pradesh Assembly.

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Meanwhile, the police said the first FIR under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) was lodged at the Hanumanganj police station in Bhopal at 12:16 a.m. on Tuesday against a person for using abusive language, just 16 minutes after the new laws came into force.

The second and third FIRs under the new laws were also registered in Bhopal at the Nishatpura police station (12:20 a.m.) and Shahjahanabad police station (12:22 a.m.).

A total of 10 FIRs were registered in the next hour, including eight in Bhopal.

ADGP (law and order) Jaydeep Prashad said, “Over 60,000 police personnel have been trained on the new criminal laws. More training sessions and awareness programmes are underway.”

–IANS

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Drugs, contraband valued at Rs 6cr seized in Tripura, Mizoram

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Agartala/Aizawl, July 2 (IANS) Security forces in Tripura and Mizoram seized heroin and areca nuts (betel nuts) valued at over Rs 6 crore and arrested three drug peddlers including a woman in this connection, an official said on Monday.

North Tripura district Superintendent of Police Bhanupada Chakraborty said that acting on a tip off, the police on Sunday night intercepted a vehicle coming from neighbouring Assam and recovered 408 grams of heroin valued at Rs 4 crore.

Two drug peddlers, identified as Sohel Miah and Dilwar Hussain — both residents of the bordering Sonamura subdivision of Sepahijala district, who were travelling in the vehicle, were arrested.

According to police, the drugs, which were coming from Myanmar via neighbouring Mizoram, were intended for Sonamura and then to Bangladesh.

“North Tripura district police alone seized heroin worth Rs 30 crore from various parts of the district in June,” Chakraborty told IANS.

In Mizoram, Assam Rifles, along with police personnel in the state have recovered heroin valued at Rs 56,000 on Sunday at Melbuk in Champhai district from a woman, who was also arrested.

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In another operation, Assam Rifles recovered 273 bags of Areca Nuts worth Rs 1.52 crore at Ruantlang in Champhai district during a special Area Domination Patrol on Sunday.

–IANS

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11 Bangladeshi nationals held in Tripura for illegal entry into India

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Agartala, July 1 (IANS) Eleven Bangladeshi nationals, including six women, were arrested from the Agartala railway station for illegally entering India without valid documents, the police said on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel arrested the Bangladeshi nationals, aged between 20 and 40 years, from the railway station on Sunday night.

During interrogation, it was revealed that the Bangladeshi nationals were planning to go to Delhi and other Indian cities from Tripura in search of jobs.

With the latest arrests, 22 Bangladeshi nationals have been held from the Agartala railway station in the last three days, while over 81 citizens from the neighbouring country have been arrested in Tripura in the last two months.

All the Bangladeshi nationals had entered Tripura through a clandestine route, intending to go to other states of the country in search of jobs.

–IANS

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Odisha CM Mohan Majhi says govt's main priority is to listen to people's grievances

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Bhubaneswar, July 2 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday said his government’s first priority is to listen to the grievances of the common citizen.

Speaking on the occasion of resuming the Chief Minister’s grievance cell at Unit V here on Monday, CM Majhi stated: “During the previous government, there existed an iron wall between the government and people and I think the grievances of the people could not be redressed due to this reason. Today, the wall has been destroyed. A direct link between the government and people has been established.”

Majhi also stated that he will listen to the grievances of people at the cell here every Monday. Emphasising on the need for a robust grievances redressal process at district level, the Chief Minister said that hearing of grievances at the district level also resumed from on Monday.

Majhi asserted that around 99 per cent of the complaints received on Monday will be solved. As many as 1,540 complaints were registered while 5,000 people visited the cell on Monday.

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The other members of state cabinet including Deputy CM K.V. Singh Deo, Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia, Minister of Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, Pradeep Bal Samanta, Minister of Department of Co-operation, and Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, Minister of Housing and Urban Development were also present during the hearing of grievances at the cell on Monday.

Notably, the chief minister’s grievance cell started functioning after a gap of almost 16 years on Monday.

Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had reportedly heard grievances at the CM’s grievance cell for the last time in August 2008.

–IANS

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JD(U) MLA hospitalised after fainting at disaster committee meeting in Nalanda

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Patna July 2 (IANS) JD(U) MLA Hari Narayan Singh was hospitalised after his health condition deteriorated during a disaster committee meeting in Bihar’s Nalanda district on Monday.

Singh, who represents the Harnaut Assembly constituency, fainted as soon as he reached the Hardev Bhawan in Nalanda for the meeting. He was rushed to the Sadar Hospital for treatment, from where he was referred to the Medanta Hospital in Patna.

Many JD(U) leaders and workers, including its Legislative Councilor representative Akhlaq Ahmed, gathered at the hospital following the incident. Ahmed said Singh’s health condition worsened as soon as he entered the auditorium for the meeting.

“Singh felt dizzy on his way to the meeting, leading to his hospitalisation. He was already undergoing treatment at the Medanta Hospital in Patna, which is why he was referred there for further treatment,” said Nalanda DM Shashank Shubhankar.

–IANS

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