Transport officials from the Borivali Regional Transport Office (RTO) have filed an FIR against an auto rickshaw driver and a representative of an auto union for seeking autorickshaw permits by fabricating character certificates issued by the Special Branch (SB) of Mumbai Police.
The case was registered on June 2 against Yogendra Singh who had applied for a permit along with Vijaykrishna Pandey, representative of Dhadak Autorickshaw Taxi Chalak Malak Union at MHB police station.
As per Ravi Gaikwad, Head of Borivali RTO, Singh had applied for a permit in 2017 with Pandey's help. He had submitted documents, including a character certificate issued by the SB through the union. "During verification our office received a feedback from police stating that the character certificate was not only forged but there were criminal cases registered against Singh at Samta Nagar police station," he said. An FIR was registered after this and cops arrested the duo.
Officials from Borivali RTO informed that Pandey even threatened some officials and was pressuring them to give the Letter of Intent (LOI) for the permit. "Unions should ensure that they do not employ people who do not understand rules and regulations and put pressure on us," said another RTO official.
Gaikwad said a character certificate is one of the key documents for getting an auto permit, as it not only verifies the residence, but also certifies that the applicant has no criminal background. "We have registered around 15 FIRs within a year against several such applicants who have forged documents or took law in their hands to obtain auto permits," he said.
Auto unions have been pointing out that forged certificates are easily available with touts who simply change the name and print a certificate.
It’s A Must
A character certificate is one of the key documents required to get an auto permit, as it not only verifies the residence, but also certifies that the applicant has no criminal background.
