Vehicles plying in Gujarat get fitness certificates in Bengaluru, RTO officer suspended
The suspension followed directions from Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy; in response to the incident, Karnataka announced a geo-fenced M-Fitness App to be rolled out from February 2.
The Karnataka Transport Department suspended a senior Motor Vehicle Inspector at the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Bengaluru (Central), on Wednesday for allegedly issuing fitness certificates to 41 Gujarat-registered vehicles without conducting the mandatory physical inspections.
The suspension of Nissar Ahmed followed directions from Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy after the Gujarat Transport Department flagged irregularities.
An analysis of data from the e-detection portal revealed that the vehicles were issued Form-38(A) fitness certificates in Karnataka on days when they were recorded passing through toll plazas in Gujarat, 1500 kilometres away, indicating that the vehicles were not physically present at the Bengaluru RTO (01).
The Gujarat Transport Department’s e-Detection Team reported that all 41 vehicles had received fitness approvals from RTOs in Karnataka, with the certificates allegedly cleared by Nissar Ahmed. This prompted the Karnataka Transport Department to initiate an internal inquiry.
The inquiry, conducted using the Vahan 4.0 software, confirmed that the fitness certificates were renewed at the Bengaluru (Central) RTO without physical inspection of the vehicles. Officials said the act constituted a clear violation of provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules, amounting to dereliction of duty.
In response to the incident, the transport department announced that a geo-fenced M-Fitness App will be rolled out across Karnataka from February 2. The app will mandate the physical presence of vehicles during inspection, GPS-tagged photographs, and recording of location coordinates to prevent such violations in the future.
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