Touts fleece citizens of Rs 1K for 30 licence
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MUMBAI: Most residents do not seem to know that the regional transport office
in Andheri has started issuing learner’s licences within 15 minutes of
taking a test and, that too, for not more than Rs 30. Taking advantage
of this lack of awareness, touts apparently have been fleecing
applicants, demanding as much as Rs 1,000 for a " speedy deliverance” of
the documents.
“It seems several citizens are not aware of our new system which is transparent, corruption-free and fast. The touts just guide people to the normal queue, which anyway leads them through a speedy process to get a learner’s licence. The agents are simply fooling applicants,” deputy RTO Bharat Kalaskar told TOI, urging citizens not to use an agent but to come directly to the office for a learner’s licence. He admitted that they had not been able to catch any of the culprits—most of them operate outside the RTO building—and disappear after collecting the fee. According to an official, the agents hang around the RTO building with application forms and usually accost their targets near the main gate close to Four Bungalows. “First, the touts will paint a false picture that getting a learner’s licence was a tedious process, involving multiple visits to the RTO. Winning the applicants’ confidence, they then assure them that the learner’s licences will be delivered the same day without any hassle,” the official said. “Falling in the trap, the victims agree to pay Rs 1,000 as service fee and get guided to the official counter where the token is issued.
On receiving the token, the touts escort the applicants to the door the licence section door and then vanish from the spot.
The fraud came to light after some of the victims enquired with others and found out that they had paid only the government-approved fee of Rs 30. The victims then lodged a complaint with Kalaskar. “According to the rules, one has to take a token, enter the learner’s licence section, show the documents (proofs), pay a fee of Rs 30, get data entered in computer, biometrics done and appear for an online RTO test,” deputy RTO Pradeep Shinde said. “The licence is then issued within 15 minutes. It is a simple process and there is absolutely no need for an agent to ‘help’.”
“It seems several citizens are not aware of our new system which is transparent, corruption-free and fast. The touts just guide people to the normal queue, which anyway leads them through a speedy process to get a learner’s licence. The agents are simply fooling applicants,” deputy RTO Bharat Kalaskar told TOI, urging citizens not to use an agent but to come directly to the office for a learner’s licence. He admitted that they had not been able to catch any of the culprits—most of them operate outside the RTO building—and disappear after collecting the fee. According to an official, the agents hang around the RTO building with application forms and usually accost their targets near the main gate close to Four Bungalows. “First, the touts will paint a false picture that getting a learner’s licence was a tedious process, involving multiple visits to the RTO. Winning the applicants’ confidence, they then assure them that the learner’s licences will be delivered the same day without any hassle,” the official said. “Falling in the trap, the victims agree to pay Rs 1,000 as service fee and get guided to the official counter where the token is issued.
On receiving the token, the touts escort the applicants to the door the licence section door and then vanish from the spot.
The fraud came to light after some of the victims enquired with others and found out that they had paid only the government-approved fee of Rs 30. The victims then lodged a complaint with Kalaskar. “According to the rules, one has to take a token, enter the learner’s licence section, show the documents (proofs), pay a fee of Rs 30, get data entered in computer, biometrics done and appear for an online RTO test,” deputy RTO Pradeep Shinde said. “The licence is then issued within 15 minutes. It is a simple process and there is absolutely no need for an agent to ‘help’.”
