RTO atrocity: Auto driver yet to get vehicle

For over three years Ramesh Shrikari Sahu an auto driver from Andheri has been running from pillar to post as his autorickshaw his only source of income was confiscated by the Andheri RTO for no fault of his According to Sahu someone had illegally obtained a permit against his auto and RTO officials seized his vehicle without any verificationAfter midday highlighted the matter on February 6 the Amboli police finally woke up and took cognisance of his complaint after which two people were arrested in the case However the Andheri RTO office which was primarily at fault for issuing a second permit against Sahursquos auto has been blatantly refusing to accept its fault and has been leaving no stone unturned to protect its officersThe two people arrested in the RTO permit scam on Tuesday are Ramesh Ganesh Sahu 40 and RTO agent Munna alias Hariram Dashrath Sahu 39 a resident of Kurla The former an autorickshaw driver had purchased the duplicate permit from the latterPainful journeyThe complainant Ramesh Shrikari Sahu has been driving autos since 2004 and obtained a permit which allows one to buy a rickshaw in 2018 The same year he purchased a new auto but when he visited the Andheri RTO office in October 2020 to renew the permit he found that his autorickshaw number was blacklisted The complainant met RTO officer Hemant Patil who investigated this matter and instructed him to meet Shyamrao Shete an officer who asked to submit the school leaving certificate and also to apply for a namechange gazetteSahu has been trying to get back his autorickshaw for three years PicAtul KambleRamesh Shrikari Sahu then made the gazette and submitted it to the RTO Later Shete told him that his case had been transferred to RTO officer Ashok Pawar However on April 12 2021 when Ramesh Shrikari Sahu reached the RTO office to meet officer Pawar his auto was seized ldquoMany of my auto parts have been stolen Instead of investigating the matter and finding the RTO officers responsible for the mistake they closed the file and are not helping the police with the investigationrdquo the complainant saidlsquoOfficer made mistakersquoFollowing investigations the Amboli police told midday that an unknown RTO officer had goofed up and issued a duplicate permit and that the RTO officers were not cooperating with the investigation When this reporter asked who had issued the duplicate permit RTO officials told him they didnrsquot have any records about this as they had destroyed all the papersAn investigating officer said ldquoThe accused Ramesh Ganesh Sahu created an Aadhaar card and he told us that he used his fatherinlawrsquos name as his middle name The accused and complainant have a different middle name but the rest of the details were the same We are checking with the Aadhaar card centre to find out how he made the Aadhaar card with the name of the complainantrdquoThe accused also told the cops that he was residing at the same address where the complainant was residing The cops believe that the accused created a duplicate Aadhaar card and used it to apply for an auto permit The cops also found that RTO agent Munna helped Ramesh Ganesh Sahu with the permit and took a commissionThe investigation officer API Suresh Valvi of Amboli police station sent many letters to Andheri RTO to investigate the matter and find the RTO officer responsible for the mistake only to be told that the office didnrsquot have records about which officer issued this permit midday tried to speak with RTO officer Ashok Pawar but he refused to speak on the matterAssistant Regional Transport Officer Raosaheb Ragade of the Andheri RTO told midday ldquoWe donrsquot have records in our system on who issued this duplicate permit Every year we dispose of the documents and upload only the licence copy to our system But we donrsquot have records of who issued this licencerdquoldquoWe are cooperating with the cops and also sent out answers regarding the samerdquo he added The complainant said ldquoI have been driving a rented auto for the past three years The Andheri RTO should investigate this matter find the accused and return my vehicle to me My seized vehicle is not in a condition to run on the road as it has become scrap The RTO is responsible for this and I should get a new autordquoAmboli policersquos questions to the RTO and the answers they received1 On March 17 2023 the Amboli police sent a notice under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to the Andheri RTO to inquire who issued the permitWe only have records for two years We donrsquot have information in our system about who issued this permit2 On August 26 2022 in another letter to the RTO the cops asked if it had issued the permit first to Ramesh Shrikari Sahu or Ramesh Ganesh SahuRamesh Shrikari Sahu3 In 2004 the auto licence was issued under whose nameUnder Ramesh Shrikari Sahursquos name4 In 2013 the complainant submitted the documents for issuing a smart card licence under whose nameRamesh Shrikari Sahu5 Sahu received a smart licence with the wrong name Ramesh Ganesh Sahu for what reasonsNo records6 Do you have a record of the accuseds documentsNo records7 The RTO seized both the complainants and accusedrsquos autorickshaws Who defrauded the RTOWe dont have records We have records of two years only8 Which officer issued the duplicate permitWe dont have records