Maharashtra Crime: Fake RTO Officers In Scorpio Attempt ₹25,000 Extortion From Truck Driver In Ahilyanagar; 2 Detained In Beed
Mumbai: In a concerning case of impersonation and attempted extortion, a group of unidentified individuals posing as officers from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) attempted to extort Rs 25,000 from a truck driver on Wednesday morning near Devrai, Taluka Pathardi, District Ahilyanagar.
Sunil Madhukar Patil, a 50-year-old Motor Vehicle Inspector from the Ahilyanagar RTO, filed a formal complaint at the Pathardi Police Station detailing the incident.
According to his statement, the matter came to light after a phone call from Vinod Sagare, Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Ahilyanagar, who had received information from Baba Balbhim Sanap, President of the Motor Owners Welfare Association, Ahilyanagar District.
Investigations revealed that the fake RTO flying squad was using a Scorpio vehicle with a number plate closely resembling that of an official RTO vehicle. The original RTO flying squad vehicle bears the registration number MH04 KR 6404, while the fake vehicle used by the accused was registered as MH04 LT 6404, differing only in the letter series. This deliberate attempt to mimic an official vehicle has raised serious concerns about the ease of impersonation.
According to the statement given to the Pathardi police by Sunil Madhukar Patil, on May 7 around 5:00 a.m., a six-wheeler goods truck (MH16 AE 1044), driven by Ashok Narhari Panchal of Shivaji Nagar, Beed, was en route from Ahilyanagar to Beed.
Near the Narhari Jewellers billboard in Devrai, a white Scorpio vehicle bearing fake RTO stickers and a registration number ending in 6404 approached the truck. The occupants of the Scorpio signaled the truck to pull over.
"A man who claimed to be an RTO officer stepped out and informed the driver that the vehicle's fitness certificate had expired and that a fine of Rs. 64,000 was pending. He allegedly demanded that a settlement amount of Rs. 25,000 be paid immediately to a person named Ajay Panwala via mobile number 9594951238," said an official.
Suspecting foul play, the truck owner, Keval Jaggi, contacted Baba Sanap, who then joined the call via conference and confronted the so-called RTO officer. The impostor claimed to be "Suryawanshi" from the Wadala RTO and said he was traveling to Beed on official duty. Sanap recorded the call and shared it with the concerned authorities.
A subsequent inquiry by Sunil Patil revealed that the Scorpio vehicle in question, allegedly registered under the number 6404, actually belonged to the Thane RTO and was present in Thane at the time of the incident. Additionally, no officer named "Suryawanshi" was found to be employed in the RTO department, confirming the impersonation.
Upon discovering the fraudulent nature of the incident, Sunil Patil informed RTO Vinod Sagare, who instructed him to file an official police complaint. Authorities suspect this is a case of deliberate impersonation intended to extort money by misusing government insignia and posing as public servants.
The Pathardi Police are currently investigating the matter. When contacted, an official from the Pathardi Police said, "The Beed police detained two individuals on Wednesday night. On Thursday, the Beed police registered a case against them as they had committed a similar crime there. Since the vehicle was headed towards Beed, we informed the Beed police. They detained the suspects and discovered the same crime had been committed in Beed. After completing the legal procedure, the Beed police will hand them over to us for further investigation. This is the first time such a case has been registered with the Pathardi Police."
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