The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested two staff members of the transportation division for siphoning off industrial auto tax well worth lakhs by means of a pretend vehicle entry software and bogus stamps.
Apart from the two staff members, Harpal Singh of Hasanpur village, Fatehabad, Haryana, and Salinder Singh of Bishanpura village, Zirakpur, the bureau has also booked a different worker, Praveen Kumar of Khanpur village, Kharar, who is at huge.
The faux computer software program, and the bogus stamps and seals have been recovered.
Supplying details, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Ajay Kumar mentioned around 2,000 professional vehicles, as nicely as new chassis of industrial cars, entered Punjab from other states day-to-day.
These cars are needed to pay out tax for coming into or passing by Punjab, which can be paid out on the web by the vehicle driver/owner or deposited at RTA’s Tax Collection Centre in Jharmari, Lalru, Mohali.
Kumar claimed Harpal, Salinder and Praveen were being posted at this centre on rotational foundation. Their task was to accumulate the commercial vehicle tax after filling the requisite particulars, including registration amount and type of automobile, in the e-Parivahan computer software of the transport department. The gathered tax is additional deposited with the point out exchequer.
Nevertheless, these three workers, with the intent to siphon off the tax, produced a phony software, equivalent to the first, and begun making bogus receipts for tax paid out by the driver/operator of the motor vehicles. The DSP claimed as this sort of, the revenue created was being pocketed by these accused for very long, causing a loss of lakhs to the condition exchequer. “Not only this, they also fabricated stamps/seals to be affixed on the receipts to move them off as authentic,” he extra.
He claimed throughout investigation, two this sort of receipts ended up cross-checked with the government’s e-Parivahan application and were being found to be bogus.
As this modus operandi was not possible without the need of the connivance of other officials, the official stated the involvement of other officers/personnel was remaining ascertained through more investigation.
A circumstance beneath Sections 420 (dishonest and dishonestly inducing delivery of assets), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of useful safety, will, and many others.), 471 (employing as real a cast 1[document or electronic history) and 120-B (felony conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 7, 7A, 13(1) (A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at the Vigilance Bureau police station in Mohali.
Efforts are underway to arrest Praveen. The two arrested accused will be developed in court docket on Thursday.