Berhampur: Police have arrested 5 people, including 2 RTO officials, for illegally collecting money from trucks plying on NH-16 in Odisha’s Ganjam district. Giving information about this, an official said that Ganjam Additional Regional Transport Officer K. Venkatesh, Junior Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI) Ratikant Nayak and 3 others have been arrested. Berhampur Superintendent of Police Sarwana Vivek M. said Golanthra police received information about a group of youths illegally extorting money from trucks at Girishola on NH-16.
‘4 people arrested for extorting money by stopping the vehicle’
The SP said that the accused were promising the truck drivers that if they were given this money, they would be able to move their vehicles easily without any check by the Ganjam RTO office officials. A police team from Golanthra police station reached the spot and found at least four people stopping a vehicle and collecting money, a police official said. Police took three of them into custody, while one escaped from the spot. Police said that during interrogation the trio revealed that they were working on behalf of some officials of RTO, Ganjam and also gave their names. They used to extort money from trucks so that RTO officials would not check their vehicles on NH-16.
‘Officials were members of Vasuli’s WhatsApp group’
The accused said that the recovered money was later given to the RTO officials in cash or through online transactions. The SP said that the accused officers had joined their ‘agents’ in a WhatsApp ‘group’ and the officers themselves were members of the same for this illegal extortion campaign. The details of the paying truck were shared in their ‘WhatsApp’ group, so that they could not be checked by RTO officials on NH-16. He said that a case has been registered against all 5 accused under various sections of BNS and Anti-Corruption Act. Police said investigations are on to find other people involved in the racket. (language)
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