In a recent development, the Department of Transport has suspended a motor vehicle inspector in Kasaragod following allegations by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) of accepting money from an agent back in 2021. The inspector, Anil Kumar V, stationed at the Kasaragod Regional Transport Office, has been suspended pending a departmental inquiry, as stated in the order issued by transport secretary Biju Prabhakar on June 15.
The VACB initiated a surprise inspection at the Regional Transport Office on January 1, 2021, after receiving multiple complaints regarding illicit collection of funds for vehicle registration from both within and outside of Kerala. Additionally, there were allegations of money being accepted from driving license applicants and agents of driving schools.
During the inspection, the VACB discovered that Suresh, an agent, had handed over money to Anil Kumar, as stated in the suspension order. The money was found to be shared among other officers. The investigation also revealed that MVI Kumar had been in communication with Suresh over the phone, exchanging information.
Furthermore, the anti-corruption bureau uncovered a pile of driving license applications dating back to 2019 during the January 2021 inspection. However, the order from the Transport Secretary did not mention any specific action against other officers, namely MVIs Shankara Pillai, Reji Kuriakose, and Dinesh Kumar, as well as assistant vehicle inspector Abdul Navas, who were posted at the RTO during that period.
In a separate incident that occurred around two weeks ago, on May 30, MVI Prasad K R, responsible for conducting driving tests at the Kanhangad Sub-Regional Transport Office (RTO), was suspended from service pending inquiry. This action followed the VACB’s apprehension of two driving school agents in possession of Rs 2.70 lakh of unaccounted-for money at the Guruvanam test ground in September 2021.
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