New businesses: Two arrested for issuing false fitness certificates

Fake OGRA regional office busted.

MULTAN:

Two men were arrested in Layyah on Monday for issuing false CNG cylinder fitness certificates by pretending to be regional transport officials. The alleged head of the gang fled the scene. Saddar police recovered bogus documents, stamps and money from the suspects.

Those arrested were identified as Shakeel Ahmed and Nasir Shaheen. Regional Transport Authority District Secretary Zaheer Ghiasuddin had accompanied the police team that made the arrests.

Police said the men had been charging Rs5,000 for a Hiace van and Rs3,500 for smaller vans and other vehicles.

Police said Chaudhry Imran owns a CNG filling station, where he and the two men had set up a counterfeit Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) regional office. They said Ahmed and Shaheen had been posing to be OGRA fitness engineer and inspection officer, respectively.

OGRA officials said that vehicle examinations are done by district government officials. The district coordination officer then informs the road and transport regional secretary, who then informs OGRA.

Police said the three men had been pretending to be following the procedure with false documentation at every step. Police said they had issued 20 licences so far.



Police said the CNG station was raided on Monday.

They said some balloons were also recovered from a drawer. The balloons had OGRA written on them. Every time the men would issue a fitness certificate, they would tie an inflated balloon to the cylinder declaring it fit for use.

An FIR was registered against them under Sections 420, 468 and 471 (fraud and use of forged documents). Police said they were looking for Imran.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2013.