A false alarm over pending challans from a caller who identified himself as an RTO officer: this is how a man was allegedly duped of Rs 12,500 by a former private agent at an RTO (regional transport office) in Ghaziabad, according to the Delhi Police.
The accused was arrested on Saturday.
The complainant, police said, claimed that he had received a call from a man impersonating an RTO officer.
The ‘officer’ told the complainant that he has pending challans worth Rs 12,500 against his commercial vehicle and if not paid, the vehicle’s registration would be cancelled.
Panicking, police said, the complainant paid the amount but later realised that there were no challans against his vehicle.
Following the money trail, police found that the amount was credited to a bank account registered in the name of Ashish Sharma.
On Saturday, Sharma’s phone location was traced to the Ghaziabad area. The 38-year-old was then arrested. Upon questioning, he told the police he had worked for the Ghaziabad RTO office earlier.
“While working there, he gained unauthorised access to old vehicle registration files which were kept in open gallery areas. He misused this information, along with data obtained through the E-Vahan app, to contact vehicle owners,” said DCP (Central) Harsha Vardhan.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd