Nagpur: A suspected stolen vehicle registration racket spanning northeast India, including Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, and having links to Madhya Pradesh and Nagpur, has come under the scanner of city police. Police claim the racketeers register stolen heavy commercial trucks in multiple states using forged documents to avoid detection.As per police sources, Nagpur Rural RTO received an anonymous letter naming three persons — Mohammad Hussain Mohammad Ismail (39), Dinesh Kumar Omprakash (53) and Mohammad Ejaz Abdul Rehman — having brought four trucks registered in Arunachal Pradesh to Nagpur Rural RTO in March 2022. They managed to get these vehicles illegally re-registered as Maharashtra transport vehicles, claimed the letter. Following this, a fact-finding inquiry was conducted and later the matter was referred to police.An FIR registered at Kapil Nagar police station in the city on July 1, based on a complaint by a motor vehicle inspector at Nagpur Rural RTO, claims that some stolen vehicles were registered at three RTOs in Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.Police claim stolen vehicles were first provided fake identities in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, re-registered in Arunachal Pradesh allegedly in connivance with RTO officers, and eventually brought to Nagpur, where they were registered again.The racketeers prepared fake documents of vehicles, modified the engine and chassis numbers and registered them in local RTO, according to police. Later, they took the stolen vehicles to Arunachal Pradesh, where they were registered with the help of nexus in RTO.The same vehicles were brought to Nagpur and once again re-registered here on the basis of the documents prepared in Arunachal Pradesh, and put on the roads as seemingly legitimate vehicles.Investigations said the racketeers caused revenue losses to the govt and bypassed mandatory verification procedures. During investigation, name of one more person, Abdul Asif Abdul Qadir, a resident of Washim bypass in Akola, came to fore. Following the revelation, a team has been sent to Akola .An insider familiar with transport-related frauds claimed a similar modus operandi has been used for vehicles carrying Nagaland registration numbers. Police sources said several such vehicles seen in Nagpur are suspected to have been stolen from across the country, taken to Dewas for forging documents and altering identification numbers, and later registered in northeastern states before being brought back for commercial use.Trucks bearing Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh registration numbers have become common on Nagpur roads in recent years, often attracting the attention of transport authorities and enforcement agencies, said police. Investigators believe the latest revelations strengthen concerns about an organised interstate racket involved in vehicle theft, forgery and illegal re-registration of heavy commercial vehicles across India.
