Assam: Bongaigaon DTO arrested amid allegations of multi-vehicle registration scam

Bongaigaon District Transport Officer (DTO) Deepak Patowary has been arrested by Bongaigaon police in Guwahati, following an investigation into a significant vehicle registration scam. Patowary was apprehended near Arya Hospital in Guwahati's Rehabari area, where raids are currently underway at his residence to uncover further evidence.

The arrest comes in the wake of mounting accusations that the Bongaigaon District Transport Office had registered 417 vehicles using fraudulent documents. It has been alleged that the scam involved re-registering vehicles from Lakshadweep under fake identities, with the objective of bypassing legal checks and regulations. 

The scam came to light after documents from the Bongaigaon transport office were seized by senior transport officials, leading to a deeper probe into the allegations. For several days, concerns had been raised regarding the office's involvement in dubious practices, sparking the investigation that culminated in Patowary’s arrest. 

Authorities are now looking into the extent of the fraud and whether more officials were involved in the multi-layered vehicle registration racket, which has caused ripples across the state's transport department.

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