Five more MTD officers involved in vehicle registration scam under Police radar

The Panadura Walana Anti-Corruption Task Force says that investigations have revealed that in addition to the employee of the archives, five other officers are also involved in the racket of changing the data in the Motor Traffic Department’s (MTD) computer system and registering vehicles.

An officer of the archives had been summoned to the Panadura Walana Anti-Corruption on Thursday (10) and interrogated for over three hours and his statements had been recorded.

Later, the illegally registered jeep used by this person was taken into Police custody.

Subsequent to the Mahara Magistrate’s Court granting permission to carry out further investigations under the 430 documents which were in the possession of the main suspect who was taken into custody together with a jeep which had been assembled in an illegal manner at Ganemulla, Kadawatha about a month ago, during the investigations conducted, based on this, it was discovered that all those vehicles had been registered by entering false information into the computer system mainly by the archives officer as well as five other officers.

In addition, after calling for a report from the Western Province Commissioner of the Motor Vehicle Department regarding the issuance of revenue licenses in relation to the luxury jeep that was in the possession of the chief clerk, it was revealed that no revenue license had been issued for that vehicle from 2000 to 2018 and after the registration in 2018, a revenue license had been issued after payment of the fines. It had been stated that during that year, the chassis number of this vehicle had been changed.

Apart from that, during further inspection of the vehicle, it was found that the year of manufacture mentioned on the body belt of the vehicle is 1995 and the year of manufacture of the motor vehicle registration department is recorded as 1996 in the computer system.

Facts have come to light during police investigations that there have been 250 phone conversations between the person arrested in Kadawatha and the archives officer and in addition to that, five officers of the department, who are now being revealed to be involved in the fraud, have also maintained contact by exchanging phone messages with the main suspect.

A senior police official said that hundreds of thousands of rupees have been earned from thisscam, which has been in operation for years, as an organized network. The police further stated that those who have committed offenses under the Public Property Act will be identified, arrested, brought to court and prosecuted.

Walana Central Anti-Corruption Task Force Director Assistant Superintendent Udaya Kumara and Chief Inspector Indika Weerasinghe are directing the probe.

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