SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) conducted surprise inspections on Tuesday, May 27, at three Hyderabad Regional Transport Authority (RTA) offices — Medchal, Kondapur and Nagole — and uncovered several alleged irregularities involving agents, driving license processing, and suspected corrupt practices.
Officials found unauthorised middlemen operating freely inside the RTA premises, handling applications on behalf of citizens and allegedly collecting extra money for services related to driving licences and registration certificates.
At the Medchal RTA office, a private individual was found carrying four driving licence applications without the presence of the actual applicants. He reportedly admitted to operating a driving school and facilitated the process of obtaining learner’s licences and driving licences for a fee. Officials also found that applications carried specific agent names or codes to ensure smooth processing without objections.
In Kondapur RTA office, ACB officials discovered that Driving Licence (DL) cards and Registration Certificates (RCs), which are meant to be dispatched through post, were allegedly not being sent to applicants directly. Around 150 printed RCs and DLs were recovered from unauthorised agents. Driving school representatives were also reportedly seen near the driving test track, influencing officials to clear candidates in driving tests without difficulty.
The surprise checks at the Nagole RTA office revealed more serious irregularities. Officials found that agents and driving school operators were moving freely inside the office premises and handling licence applications through private persons, allegedly in exchange for bribes. During the inspection, seven driving school owners-cum-agents and eight instructors were found inside the premises, with cash amounting to Rs. 41,130 recovered from them.
The ACB further found that DL cards were allegedly being handed over directly to agents instead of being dispatched to applicants through registered or speed post. A total of 184 driving licences were reportedly recovered from the possession of an agent identified as Sudhakar Reddy, who also runs a driving school.
Inspecting officers at the Nagole driving track were also found allowing instructors to accompany learners during driving tests, raising concerns over the genuineness of the evaluation process. Officials noted that all 185 driving licence applications processed on the day of inspection were approved without a single rejection. Investigators suspect that markings related to driving school vehicle numbers on the applications could indicate a coded system linked to bribery.
The ACB also allegedly noticed common irregularities across all three RTA offices, including suspicious financial transactions requiring further investigation, unauthorised access to driving licence sections, RC rooms and official computers, and the involvement of agents in delivering official documents to citizens after collecting additional money over official fees.
Officials stated that the findings indicate the existence of an organised network of middlemen allegedly exploiting ordinary citizens in the name of facilitating services. Further verification is underway, and a detailed report will be submitted to the government for necessary action against the concerned RTA offices.
SOURCE : SIASAT
