More than 700 fake DLs in the city

More than 700 fake DLs in the city

Police are concerned after unearthing racket: What if a terrorist has one?

By Bangalore Mirror Bureau
Posted On Sunday, October 12, 2008

The fake driving licence racket unearthed by the Commercial Street police following the arrest of five persons two days ago has jolted the transport department: Preliminary investigations have revealed that there are 700 to 800 people with fake driving licences (DLs) in the city.

“It comes as a shocker, more so because the city is high on the terror list,” a senior transport department official who preferred to stay anonymous said.

The racket came to light following the arrest of 23-year-old Mohammed Shadab Ansari, a salesman at Garuda Mall and a native of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, during passport verification. Doubting the veracity of the documents, the cops called him to the Police Commissioner’s office and questioned him on the driving licence, which apparently had been issued by the regional transport office (RTO) in Haveri. The suspicion proved justified when Ansari told the police that he did not know where Haveri is. When the questioning intensified, Ansari said he got the DL done through a person named Yasim Baig (28), a sales executive in a private financial company.

Acting on the tip-off, the police took Yasim into custody. He, in turn, revealed that the DLs were procured from Fayaz Pasha and Mohammed Nayaz, both RTO touts. Investigations revealed that Fayaz, along with his elder brother Khaleel alias RTO Khaleel, who is absconding, were the masterminds behind the racket. “Initially, Fayaz feigned ignorance and said he has nothing to do with the racket. But subsequently, he confessed to the crime,” a police officer explained.

Following this, the police raided his house in Hosaguddadahalli off Mysore Road and seized fake DLs, 21 rubber stamps of different RTOs, learning licence forms and passport-size photographs of 70 persons. The rubber stamps pertained mostly to RTOs in Haveri, Karwar and Davanagere.

On the modus operandi of the culprits, police said that they used to throw a bait at non-Bangaloreans who were desperate to obtain residence proof. As DLs are accepted as proof of domicile, they got rich pickings.

Fayaz and his brother had become experts in making fake DLs. In fact, when the Commercial Street police sub-inspector asked Fayaz to prepare a fake DL, he just took a couple of minutes to complete the job —- surprising everyone in the police station.

“We do not know who are the persons who have got the fake DLs from the gang. Going by their confession, the number of fake DLs in the city is 700-800. It is a matter of national security. What if these DLs fall into the hands of terrorists?” a police officer said. While the police are checking if the accused had colluded with officials in RTOs, the transport department has decided to urge the police to intensify verification of DLs.