A criminal enterprise producing fraudulent permits for buses travelling to West Bengal has been uncovered in Jamshedpur, revealing a substantial financial scam. The scheme was discovered when a bus from Karwan Transport, scheduled to depart from the Bhuiyadih bus stand, was stopped for inspection by authorities in Purulia. Upon examination, the permit and tax documents were found to be counterfeit, and the vehicle was impounded.
Following this, bus owner Rais Alam, residing in Bandugoda, Kapali, suspended operations of his five other buses to investigate their documentation. His findings confirmed that all their permits and tax documents were falsified, apparently created by Praful Pandey of Mango. Alam estimates this illicit activity had persisted for about five years, with Pandey allegedly securing tax tokens through contacts within the West Bengal RTO.
When confronted, Praful initially denied culpability. However, under pressure, he paid the fine to retrieve the impounded bus in Purulia. Subsequently, Alam traveled to Kolkata to scrutinize permit tax payments and learned that over a dozen other vehicles, primarily operating around Jamshedpur, possessed fraudulent permits. Payments were accompanied by fake challans and official seals.
Rais informed several major transport operators in Jamshedpur, whose permit-tax matters were managed by Praful. Preliminary investigations suggest that counterfeit permits for a dozen buses from the Bhuiyadih bus stand were used to misappropriate funds.
Rais Alam has submitted a written complaint to the Sitaramdera police station, demanding an investigation, the recovery of the stolen funds, and the arrest of all those involved. The Sitaramdera police station has filed a case, and the investigation has been handed over to SI Suraj Prasad. The police in-charge reported that the accused is at large and significant details will be revealed upon his arrest.
Rais Alam also alleged in his complaint that after his continuous demands for the return of the money, Praful Pandey filed a false case against his associates Imran Khan, bus agent Ramkumar, and W. Singh, requiring Alam to obtain bail. The Sitaramdera police station received a comprehensive account of the fraud, including phone records and conversations stored on a pen drive.
Rais stated that Praful maintained close ties with the West Bengal RTO, and the same person was providing regular tax tokens for the vehicle using the counterfeit permit. According to the law, new taxes are not accepted until prior taxes have been paid. He filed an RTI application, the details of which are yet to be disclosed.