In a bid to tackle corruption among public servants, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has busted a major fake heavy vehicle driving licence racket, exposing collusion between officials of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Gurdaspur, the State Institute of Automobile and Driving Skills (SIADS) Centre Mahuana in Sri Muktsar Sahib, and private document agents in Gurdaspur. A corruption case has been registered against seven people, with four, including a Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI), already arrested.
According to an official VB spokesperson, the action followed a complaint from a Pathankot resident against Pratibha Sharma, Data Entry Operator at RTA Gurdaspur. Subsequent investigation led to the registration of FIR No. 32 dated August 4, 2025, at VB Police Station Amritsar Range under the Prevention of Corruption Act, IPC, and IT Act.
Verification revealed that 23 out of 51 driving training certificates issued in the name of SIADS Mahuana were fake, with discrepancies in unique certificate numbers, QR codes, and registered mobile numbers—details that could only be altered by institute staff, confirming deliberate fraud.
The probe also uncovered the involvement of private agents—Kulbir Documents Center, Shelly Documents Center, GMD Documents Center, and Punjab Documents—in sourcing applicants and arranging forged papers for bribes. Financial records showed direct transfers from these agents to the accounts of Rakesh Kumar, a former RTA Data Entry Operator now posted at the SDM Office Batala, and Pratibha Sharma. Sukhdev Singh, LMV Instructor and GI Driving In-charge at SIADS Mahuana, allegedly misused his system access to generate fake certificates, causing financial loss to the state by illegally pocketing the ₹430 government fee per certificate.
Those arrested include Sukhdev Singh (MVI and GI Driving In-charge, SIADS), Amit Kumar alias Shelly (Shelly Documents Center), Jagpreet Singh (Punjab Documents), and Rakesh Kumar (posted in Batala). Efforts are underway to apprehend the remaining accused—Kulbir Singh (Kulbir Documents Center), Rakesh Kumar (GMD Documents Center), and Pratibha Sharma (RTA Gurdaspur). All arrested will be produced in court tomorrow, and further investigation is ongoing.