HC directs Una SP to probe fake driving licence racket

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court has directed the superintendent of police, Una, to probe the issuance of fake driving licenses to various residents and initiate criminal proceedings if any cognisable offence is found during the inquiry.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi passed these directions while hearing a public interest litigation highlighting suspicious and allegedly forged driving licences issued from different states to Una residents.The court impleaded the Una SP as a respondent in the case. The bench directed that if any cognisable offence was made out, the SP should register an FIR and constitute a special investigating team (SIT) headed by a senior police officer without waiting for the outcome of the court proceedings.The court observed that, prima facie, several fake driving licences appeared to have been issued to beneficiaries who were not even residents of those states from where the licences purportedly originated.The bench noted that many of these beneficiaries were residents of Una district, as reflected in the Aadhaar cards linked to the driving licences.Referring to one of the licences placed on record, the court pointed out glaring discrepancies in the document. The licence described itself as an "Indian Union Driving Licence, Madhya Pradesh", while the issuing authority was shown as DTO Itanagar. The licence holder, Mukesh, is a resident of Una in Himachal Pradesh, whereas the licence number carried the code "UP", generally associated with Uttar Pradesh.The bench also mentioned another driving licence that appeared to have been issued by the Bihar govt. However, the assistant RTO listed on the licence was from Sultanpur, and the registration code carried the initials "MH", which pertained to Maharashtra. The licence holder in this case was also stated to be a resident of Una.The court further noted that the Aadhaar card number of one Manjeet Singh, a resident of Una, appeared to be identical to that of another individual, Hardeep Kumar, raising further suspicion of forgery and identity manipulation. The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 23.MSID:: 131037300 413 |