Fake fitness certificates: FIR against vehicle testing station in Chiloda

Ahmedabad: After a two-year delay, the transport department filed a complaint against an automated testing station in Chiloda, Gandhinagar, for issuing fitness certificates for commercial vehicles that were never brought to the centre for checks.
Chiloda police in Gandhinagar registered a case under IPC 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of a valuable security, will or authority), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) against SS Stone Automatic Testing Station in Chiloda. However, neither the staff nor the owners have been named in the complaint filed by Dilipkumar Vankar, 37, assistant road transport officer.
Vankar stated he was authorised to file the complaint based on the report sent from the office of the deputy director of transport commissioner to the superintendent of police, Gandhinagar.
According to the complaint, SS Stone Automatic Testing Station was granted approval in July 2023 to issue fitness certificates for all vehicles registered in or outside Gujarat through the vehicle and AFMS portal. The fitness centre is required to physically examine the vehicle and conduct necessary checks using the available equipment after giving the vehicle owner an appointment for the same.

The complainant stated that on Nov 21, 2023, during an inspection, it was found after monitoring CCTV footage that certain vehicles were not brought into the centre on the dates they were issued the certificates. Photographs of these vehicles, taken on electronic devices, had been pasted on the test reports to prove these were examined at the centre.
The complaint states that 169 of the 1,126 commercial vehicles issued fitness certificates between Sep and Nov 2023 were never brought to the centre. The matter was brought to the notice of the transport commissioner’s office. Investigation found that SS Stone Automatic Testing Station edited previously available photos of vehicles to generate fake fitness certificates.
“Issuing fitness certificates without proper testing could lead to accidents on public roads, posing a serious safety concern for the public. The centre violated govt rules, collecting fees without conducting tests and falsely updating fitness validity electronically in the govt records, thus tampering with them,” the complaint stated.
The centre issued fitness certificates for 792 vehicles without proper checks after collecting Rs 7.36 lakh as fees from the owners.
Furthermore, fitness tests were conducted on 127 vehicles that did not meet the specifications mandated by Rule 190 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.
The complaint stated that the transport commissioner’s office decided to suspend the centre’s licence for six months for these violations. It said that out of the approximately 85 automated testing stations in India, 44 are in Gujarat alone. “If steps are not taken against such irregularities, it could pose a serious threat to public safety,” the complainant stated.