Andhra Pradesh: Transport support staffer hacks system, clears fitness papers

VIJAYAWADA: A junior software engineer, working with the support team at the head office of AP state road transport corporation (APSRTC), has been accused of illegally logging into the transport department’s website and approve the fitness certificate of three vehicles belonging to Vishakapatnam and Amalapuram jurisdiction on Friday. Transport commissioner MT Krishna Babu said they received a complaint from the motor vehicle inspector of Ravulapalem in East Godawari district, in which he stated that he had noticed the approval of fitness certifications in respect of three vehicles — two under Visakapatnam jurisdiction and one from Amalapuram — for which no transaction fee was paid to the department. Following the complaint, a detailed verification was ordered.“OTSI, a private company, is the system integrator for the department. It was appointed through a global tender process. The vehicles involved in the illegal activity were mapped to Visakapatnam and Amalapuram. Fitness renewal of these vehicles can only to be done at offices from where they were registered, unless specific permission is given by the district transport commissioner concerned to get the fitness done elsewhere at the request of the owner,” Krishna Babu explained.On preliminary inquiry, it was found that Uppu Viswanath, a junior software engineer working with OTSI, manipulated the database to process the illegal transactions. A criminal case was registered with Krishna Lanka police station in Vijayawada on Friday evening.Vijayawada: A junior software engineer, working with the support team at the head office of AP state road transport corporation (APSRTC), has been accused of illegally logging into the transport department’s website and approve the fitness certificate of three vehicles belonging to Vishakapatnam and Amalapuram jurisdiction on Friday. Transport commissioner MT Krishna Babu said they received a complaint from the motor vehicle inspector of Ravulapalem in East Godawari district, in which he stated that he had noticed the approval of fitness certifications in respect of three vehicles — two under Visakapatnam jurisdiction and one from Amalapuram — for which no transaction fee was paid to the department. Following the complaint, a detailed verification was ordered.“OTSI, a private company, is the system integrator for the department. It was appointed through a global tender process. The vehicles involved in the illegal activity were mapped to Visakapatnam and Amalapuram. Fitness renewal of these vehicles can only to be done at offices from where they were registered, unless specific permission is given by the district transport commissioner concerned to get the fitness done elsewhere at the request of the owner,” Krishna Babu explained.On preliminary inquiry, it was found that Uppu Viswanath, a junior software engineer working with OTSI, manipulated the database to process the illegal transactions. A criminal case was registered with Krishna Lanka police station in Vijayawada on Friday evening.