Baleshwar: A fake Regional Transport Office (RTO) operating near Laxmannath toll gate in Odisha’s Baleshwar district was busted with the arrest of a man involved in the racket.
According to sources, the accused was running the fake outfit near the toll gate on National Highway-16 in Basta area of the district.
The arrested accused has been identified as Shambhu Sahu, a resident of the Barsol area in neighbouring Jharkhand state. Another person involved in the racket reportedly fled the spot and a hunt is on to trace him.
Acting on an information about illegal collection of money near the Laxmannath toll gate, a police team from Jeleshwar conducted a raid in the area on Friday. During the operation, police initially arrested one person and subsequently detected the existence of an unauthorised office allegedly being used for collecting money by posing as transport department officials.
Police then raided the premises and seized several items, including fake fine receipts of the transport departments of Odisha and West Bengal, stamp papers, a printer, a computer and a motorcycle.
The accused allegedly posed as an RTO official and collected money from people by issuing fake challans or receipts.
A case has been registered in connection with the incident. The arrested accused was produced before a court.
Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend others involved in the alleged racket. Efforts are on to ascertain whether more people were operating behind the fake RTO office.
