40,000 Driving Licences Come under Scanner in Assam

Licences

Hailakandi, June 25, 2019:

The Hailakandi District Transport authority has decided to stop converting driving licences issued by certain districts of Manipur and Nagaland into smart cards following doubts about their genuineness.

In an order issued to this effect on Monday, District Transport Officer (DTO), Hailakandi, Syed Rafiqul Mannan said the bulk number of driving licences issued by a single authority namely DTO, Bishnupur, Manipur and a certain district of Nagaland have raised serious doubts about the genuineness of the driving licenses.

"The order that comes into force with immediate effect has been issued to stop fake licenses and in the interest of road safety, " said Mannan.

Mannan informed that more than 40,000 such licenses awaiting for conversion into smart cards are lying pending in his office.

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The DTO said most of the licence holders who applied for smart card on being questioned revealed that they have never been to Manipur or Nagaland to obtain the driving licence. This has brought to the fore bogus driving licences which are often made with the help of agents.

Following frequent cases of fake licences, the DTO has decided to take up with his counterparts in Manipur and Nagaland to ascertain the authenticity of the licences issued at their end. "We have decided to stop entreating such type of licences till we ascertain the authenticity from the licensing authority of the concerned districts," said Mannan, adding that data was not available online under Sarathi 4.0 as most of the driving licences are laminated type.

The DTO pointed out that the licences will be cancelled forthwith if anything was found wrong about their genuineness, as per Motor Vehicles Act and Rules. However, those willing to apply for new licence vis-a-vis smart card can do so under Sarathi portal, he added.